Daily Briefing

Key Takeaways

• Ukraine launched its largest drone raid on Moscow in two years — over 600 UAVs dispatched, 180+ downed over the capital region, with fires at a Wildberries logistics hub, residential buildings, and a power outage affecting 10,000+ residents in Pavlovsky Posad (10 sources corroborated).
• Ukrainian Patriot air defense systems near Kyiv have been sitting empty of interceptor missiles for ~10 weeks, exposing a critical capability gap at the height of Russian strike pressure (5 sources corroborated, CNN exclusive footage).
• Ukrainian GUR Deputy Chief Vadim Skibitsky warns a new Russian offensive toward Kyiv and Chernihiv oblasts is possible as early as February 2027, contingent on a new Russian mobilization wave — though no current indicators of preparation are observed.
• EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas announced the bloc's largest-ever sanctions package against Russia, set to expand sanctioned entities by one-third and representing over €1 trillion in cumulative economic pressure (6 sources corroborated).
• Russia's 'Banderol' drone-rocket crossed into Moldovan airspace and may have struck Moldovan territory — a significant potential escalation involving a non-NATO neutral state (15 sources corroborated on the airspace violation).