The Drone Interceptors Fighting Back Against Putin’s Freezing Dark Age

Ukraine is in crisis mode. Russian attacks on energy infrastructure, which have been going on for years, have finally reached a critical level where the system is failing and the lights – and heating – are going out. President Zelensky has declared an energy emergency.

“No one in the world has ever faced a challenge like this,” Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal told lawmakers yesterday.

In the coldest winter in decades with temperatures falling to -4°F (-15°C), sections of the country are without electricity or heating. Only the resilience of the Ukrainian people is keeping things together and, incredibly normal life goes on.

There might just be light ahead: Ukrainian interceptors may finally be turning the tide against the Russian onslaught the energy sector, creating a chance to repair and restore power.

Cities Under Siege

On Monday 12^th January, Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko reported that more than 800 apartment blocks in Kyiv were without heat after Russian strikes on the capital. Residents report getting just three hours electricity a day, and in some places the water supply has been interrupted.

Much of Kyiv’s housing relies on a shared heating system in which hot water is circulated to apartment blocks from CHP (combined heat and power) plants. But when the hot water supply fails and temperatures drop far below freezing there is a danger of pipes freezing and bursting. When this happens when the hot water supply is resumed it brings flooding and no heat. flooding. Authorities have recommended draining the heating water systems in 6,000 buildings to prevent his happening, meaning a temporary lack of heating. Severe cold makes repairs which should take a few hours slower and more difficult.

In extreme cold the hot water radiators are not enough to keep apartments warm anyway, so people rely on electric heating as a supplement. Power banks have become essential for warmth during power cuts, and many buildings have generators. Much of Ukraine is dark and cold, but life goes on. People wear winter clothes indoors and sleep under piles of blankets and quilts.

Shelters provide light, warmth, and a place to recharge phones. And businesses keep going.

“I never stop admiring my people,” author Illia Ponomarenko wrote on X yesterday. He describes a drive around his neighborhood in Bucha where, despite the lack of electricity: “The barbershop is open. The sushi bar is open. The pastry shop downstairs is open. The supermarket is fully running on a diesel generator and all the stores inside are working too.”

Not only are cellphones and the internet working, but the postal service is functioning as normal. And, even after Russia’ most brutal attacks and in a bitingly cold winter, Ponomarenko says he can still get a hot pizza in five minutes, thanks to “the modern capitalist economy, markets, international trade, technology, and plain human diligence — and of course, first and foremost, Ukraine’s defense forces.”

Defending Against The Drones

Recovering from the strikes will be impossible until the attacks can be stemmed.

“The intensity is only increasing now, with strikes happening daily,” Shmyhal told lawmakers.

The number of attack drones has steadily risen from a 2,000 a month in December 2024 to more than 5,000 in December 2025. That is more than 150 every night. The intercept rate has hovered at around 80%, but air defenses are being depleted rapidly. There are simply far too many to be brought down with missiles, either surface-to-air systems like the Raven supplied by the UK or US Sidewinders fired from F-16s.

Mobile fire teams equipped with automatic cannon and light machineguns have plenty of ammunition, but each can only defend within a few hundred meters of a single location like a power plant. The best solution looks like small interceptor drones like the Sting from the Wild Hornets group.

Originally derived from FPV attack drones, interceptors have diverged and high-speed bullet-types designs are preferred. There are many versions in use; in addition to Sting there is the Surveyor/Merops system, Techno-Taras, Hunter, Salyut, Bayonet and others. Zelensky mentioned recently that there were four main suppliers of which two were highly successful, without giving details.

A small interceptor, costing just $3k-$5k, can easily take out a 400-pound Shahed from around 20 km away. According to Zelensky the success rate is around 70%. In practice, at least two interceptors are launched at each target, for the same reason that Patriot missiles are fired in pairs – to give the highest possible chance of bringing down the threat, so that if the first misses the second is there to destroy it in time.

This means Ukraine need 2-3 times as many interceptors as Russia has Shaheds. If Russia is launching 5,000 Shaheds a month, Ukraine will need 15,000 interceptors.

A few months ago this number looked impossible, but production has ramped up sharply. Wild Hornets state that they have doubled production in two months. According to official figures, as of January Ukraine is making 45,000 interceptors a month.

Much of this is likely facilitated by support from allies, such as the 2 billion Euros for drone building promised by the EU in September in response to urgent requests.

These interceptors are having an effect. In 2024, before interceptors were available at scale, unofficial figures suggested that 10% of Shaheds were brought down by jamming, 55% by the mobile defence groups and 35% by missiles.

On January 12^th, President Zelensky said interceptor drones took out 64 of the 89 drones downed the previous night. That’s 72% of the kills, and the numbers are rising. Wild Hornets say their interceptors alone have accounted for more than 3,000 Shaheds.

There looks to be a steady rise in the intercept rate in the last two weeks, though it is too early to determine if this is a definite trend.

Ukraine has also made efforts to target Shahed launch and storage sites, but the real solution – a massive strike on the Shahed production facility in Alabuga – seems remote.

There is more cold weather ahead for Ukraine, and the rest of a hard winter to endure. But home-made drones, built with foreign assistance, might help them make it through to spring.

Donations to help Ukrainian families survive the cold weather can be made here.

Donations for interceptor drones for Ukraine can be made here.