Zelensky’s Perception Problem: Are New Partnerships a Solution? — SkimNews
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- Ukraine struck the Novourengoysk and Purovsky plants in Russia's Yamal-Nenets region, more than 3,000 kilometers from Ukrainian territory, using long-range drones, per Vitaliy Shapran writing in Focus magazine.
- Shapran argues disabling heating in Russian permafrost-zone cities would produce effects within a single day comparable to a nuclear strike, since the region's infrastructure is laid above ground and must be constantly heated through winter.
- Shapran contends Ukraine's new drone reach now threatens dozens of Trans-Ural cities and NOVATEK's LNG plants, with regional winter temperatures reaching -50°C (-58°F) amplifying the vulnerability.
- Yurii Butusov published a separate piece in Censor.NET addressing problems faced by Ukraine's Armed Forces (article body is paywalled to War on the Rocks members).
Why it matters: Shapran's analysis reframes Ukraine's drone campaign from a battlefield tool into a strategic weapon aimed at Russian civilian infrastructure and energy exports. By identifying permafrost-zone heating systems and NOVATEK's LNG plants as critical vulnerabilities, the argument turns Putin's threats of a hard winter back on Russian cities and the country's gas-export economy.
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