Ukraine fears toughest test since Russia’s full-scale invasion

Ukrainian officials, drone executives and national security experts are bracing for another extremely difficult winter, fearing that a Russian assault on energy infrastructure could pose the toughest challenge of the war yet.

From as early as April, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has emphasized the importance of ensuring that the country’s energy and infrastructure facilities are fully operational and reliably protected for the next heating season.

Just last month, in the peak of the Ukrainian summer, Zelenskyy confirmed Sergii Koretskyi as Ukraine’s new prime minister and said the former CEO of state-owned gas company Naftogaz would help to protect lives “and ensure that we make it through the winter.”

His comments come as Ukraine’s enhanced drone capabilities have sought to raise the cost of the war for Russia and test President Vladimir Putin‘s resolve after four-and-a-half years of conflict.

Russian forces have increased the number of missile strikes on Ukrainian cities in recent weeks, likely as part of a push to exploit Kyiv’s shortage of ballistic missile interceptors.

Iryna Terekh, CEO of Ukrainian drone maker Fire Point, said Kyiv needs to be realistic about the threat it faces over the coming months, particularly given the country’s acute shortage of air defense systems.

“Winter is coming, obviously, and the last winter was very hard for Ukraine and for big cities in general. This one would be no easier — and probably even harder,” Terekh told CNBC in a video call.

Ukraine remains heavily reliant on the American Patriot PAC-3 system to intercept Russian ballistic missiles, even as domestic companies such as Fire Point scramble to procure their own antimissile technology.

“We are trying to squeeze in the program that usually takes 20 to 30 years to develop in a few years, and this is not something that you can do within a matter of three months before the winter,” Terekh said.

U.S. President Donald Trump, who has recently appeared more willing to support Ukraine, cast fresh doubt on whether Washington would agree to support one of Kyiv’s most pressing demands. In a telephone interview with the Financial Times, Trump said on July 30 that he had not yet decided whether to allow Ukraine to produce Patriot surface-to-air interceptor missiles.

Ukraine’s Zelenskyy, citing Russia’s alleged use of a North Korean missile in a deadly strike on the village of Radushne, said air defense missiles, including Patriots, remain a key priority.

“I hope that all of our partners – above all our American partners, as well as our friends in Europe – will feel that real human lives depend on whether…