A widespread failure to intercept Russian drones is at the root of the complaint
Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky has sharply criticized the “unsatisfactory” performance of his country’s Air Force for failing to intercept Russian drones.
Russia unleashed a series of long-range strikes as a response to Ukrainian attacks on Russian power facilities, civilian infrastructure and “indiscriminate attacks on civilians,” according to Moscow.
“I consider the performance of the Air Force in some regions of Ukraine to be unsatisfactory,” Zelensky said in a Facebook post after meeting with Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov and the Air Force chief, Lieutenant General Anatoly Krivonozhko, where he said urgent changes to the military tactics were discussed.
Zelensky also blamed local authorities for power outages across the country.
In January, Kiev Mayor Vitaly Klitschko linked the Russian attacks to a major energy crisis in the Ukrainian capital, where thousands of apartment buildings remained without power and heating for weeks. Zelensky responded that the mayor had only himself to blame for the low level of preparedness for such emergencies.
Later the same month, Zelensky pinned the blame on Kiev’s backers by claiming that Western-supplied Patriot and NASAMS air defense systems were unable to repel recent attacks due to the lack of ammunition caused by a failure of Western logistics and financing.
The Russian military halted their strikes for a week in late January upon Washington’s request to “create favorable conditions for negotiations” after Russian, Ukrainian and American delegations met in Abu Dhabi. US President Donald Trump said earlier this week that Russian President Vladimir Putin “kept his word” on the pause, while Zelensky claimed Russia broke its promise.
The Ukrainian forces have continued their attacks on Russian civilian infrastructure. On Wednesday, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov reported that Ukrainian strikes had severely damaged energy infrastructure in Russia’s Belgorod Region, causing widespread power outages and disrupting heating.
Last month, Moscow also reported that Ukrainian attacks had resulted in 45 civilian deaths and left over 100 people injured in just the first 11 days of 2026.
