December 23 Massive Strike: 635 Drones, 38 Missiles Hit Ukraine

December 23, 2025January 10, 2026

The December 23 massive strike on Ukraine was expected. To predict something like this during these days, you don’t need intelligence data. You just need to have been on Ukrainian territory for all four years of the full-scale phase of the war. Every year from the beginning of the 20s of December until the end of the year, and sometimes extending into the first days of the next year, the enemy executes several massive attacks with everything they have. So this was the first wave, but not the last. Everyone who will somehow participate in these events should keep this in mind.

What’s important here is that the Orcs¹ accumulate forces and means specifically to execute these several waves of raids. Another thing is that now they have difficulties and limitations that didn’t exist before. If last year or the year before, the enemy could bring drones to their launch site and missiles to heavy and strategic aviation airfields, then wait for the attack command, now this established tactic has stopped being safe. Ukrainian forces already operate long-range strike weapons that can effectively impact such locations, as a result of which the accumulated ammunition explodes in the air with a festive fireworks display. Some of these places have already experienced several such strikes.

Strategic Bombers Playing Hide and Seek

Heavy bombers that previously routinely stood at the Engels-2 airbase can no longer afford this. The base has all the necessary infrastructure both for servicing aircraft and loading ammunition into them, but several strikes on the base made it dangerous. Therefore, the planes withdraw all the way to the Far East, where our drones haven’t yet effectively reached.

Before an attack, they fly to Engels-2 base and load up with missiles. Then they fly off to Olenya base on the Kola Peninsula, where they await the attack command. After this, they take off and return to the launch location over Saratov, Volgograd, and less often Astrakhan regions. From there they launch missiles and go back to the Far East.

Actually, these redeployments precisely indicate preparation for using air-launched cruise missiles. Here we’ll simply note that the enemy executes a repeatable sequence of actions, and one day this will play a cruel joke on them. We won’t delve into this specific aspect of the topic here, but we’ll simply note that one wonderful day, the bombers may discover that they’re not alone in the sky and that their aircraft look quite good burning against the backdrop of the night sky.

The Numbers: 673 Aerial Targets

This night they executed precisely this sequence of maneuvers, and as a result, a mass of strike weapons formed, which were directed at Ukrainian territory. According to Air Force data, as of Tuesday midday, a total of 673 aerial targets entered Ukrainian airspace — 635 drones of various types and 38 air-launched missiles, including three Kh-47M2 Kinzhal aeroballistic missiles and 35 Kh-101 cruise missiles. At the same time, to launch cruise missiles, the enemy used an unusually large number of Tu-95 aircraft, in connection with which more missiles of this type were expected. But it looks like for some reason, the aircraft can carry far fewer missiles than the aircraft’s design and number of hardpoints provide for. Judging by everything, they’re now capable of carrying from one to three missiles simultaneously. What this is connected with remains unknown, but the fact remains.

Air Defense Performance

The December 23 massive strike brought 673 targets, and our air defense forces shot down 587 enemy drones and 34 cruise missiles. All three Kinzhals got through, everyone understands for what reasons. However, our forces destroyed practically all cruise missiles. As the command notes, F-16 aircraft shot down the overwhelming majority of them. These jets showed simply sniper accuracy approaching 100%.

In other words, the enemy improves its strike weapons, and our military finds new methods of combating them. Let’s say this — these aircraft were used in repelling attacks before, but now something changed and the effectiveness of their work became simply striking. You can guess what the matter is here, but what’s important to us is the bottom line, and with that — everything’s fine.

Once again, we have to note that no air defense/missile defense system in the world, even the most advanced, is capable of providing hermetic protection from mass use of aerial strike weapons. We remember that even the advanced air defense/missile defense systems of Israel and the USA also couldn’t repel everything that flew at Israel. And there in the sky, not only F-16s worked but also the newest F-35s. So our military worked out simply a fantastic match, and this work can only be a source of pride.

Counterattack: Stavropol Gets a Visit

But at the same time, Ukrainian forces not only repelled the enemy’s attack wave. They renewed a powerful counterstrike on the Stavrolen enterprise in the settlement of Budyonnovsk in Stavropol Krai. A whole flock of drones flew there. They pounded the plant from the heart. At least two workshops of the enterprise went out of chat.

This plant, although it doesn’t produce final military products in the form of ammunition, weapons, or something similar, it’s precisely there that a significant part of polymers for weapons systems is manufactured, and most importantly — for drone bodies.

Practically all Shaheds use this enterprise’s products, and if it manages to be stopped, this will affect the entire supply chain of materials necessary in the drone production process. So the enemy received a good slap even without “terrorizing” the local population with destroyed heating plants and substations.

The Mirror Strategy

Although without this it definitely won’t do, because only symmetrical losses force the enemy to think about something. Obviously, the destruction of heating plants and similar infrastructure on his territory doesn’t worry the Moscow Führer absolutely. Regarding the fact that his own population will sit without heat and light, he doesn’t reflect. But this too can last until a certain moment, and then everything can go according to a different scenario. Just imagine that strikes will be delivered on such objects, but in an unusual region where these days the temperature is -30, for example. This will already be a completely different story. Even considering that electricity won’t run out in the Führer’s bunker and it will be warm and comfortable for him there, the situation can still change.

Let’s just take and carefully look at the geography. It will immediately become clear that most of the oil and gas for the chicken coop comes precisely from those regions where it’s very cold now. And if something happens there with electricity and heating, there won’t be time for gas and oil there. Who knows how the equipment will work there in emergency mode. And our military can execute something similar already now. So here mirror methods can work at full strength, if, of course, you correctly position this mirror.

More Waves Coming

Well, and we understand that before New Year we’re expecting at least one more massive attack. Khuilo² repeats himself because the old half-dead dog won’t learn new tricks anymore. The December 23 massive strike was just the beginning of russia’s traditional holiday terror campaign.

¹Orcs – a common term for Russians who support or participate in the armed aggression against Ukraine. Dehumanizing? Yes. Accurate? Also yes.

²Khuilo – the most popular nickname for Russian dictator V. Putin. First used during the 2014 invasion, and since 2022 most Ukrainians call him only that. See more on Wikipedia.