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What did 27 December 2025 reveal about Kyiv's winter?
Summary
A look back at a Russian strike on Kyiv's heating and a reported death that was later shown to be staged.
What did the final weekend of 2025 show about the pressure on Ukraine? On 28 December 2025, the day after a heavy Russian missile and drone strike on Kyiv, the main story was the damage to the city's winter lifeline.
The attack on 27 December killed two people and injured 32. Damage to critical infrastructure left 40% of Kyiv's residential areas and surrounding districts without heating, in the middle of winter.
The same day brought a second report from the front. Denis Kapustin, leader of the Ukraine-aligned Russian Volunteer Corps, was reported to have been killed in a Russian drone strike in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. That account did not hold. It was later revealed that Kapustin had faked his death to thwart an assassination attempt.
Taken together, the two reports sit side by side: one a verified toll on civilians and heating in the capital, the other an initial claim that was afterwards overturned. For readers looking back, the Kyiv figures stand as the firmer record of that weekend.
