Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure may be part of a plan aimed at worsening living conditions in major cities and forcing the country to capitulate. The Guardian writes about this, citing a document that, according to Ukrainian intelligence, was intercepted in Russia, reports UNN.
Details
The attacks on power plants reflect a Russian plan to make Ukrainian cities uninhabitable. The Kremlin is resorting to punishing the population of Ukraine in major cities, as the front lines remain frozen
According to the publication, the document titled "Analysis of Ukraine’s Energy and Housing and Utilities Sectors" contains an assessment of vulnerable facilities in Ukraine’s energy system and even anticipates strikes on high-risk facilities, in particular distribution substations at several nuclear power plants. It describes the possible consequences of the strikes—from a "deterioration in the quality of life" of Ukrainians due to power outages to a complete cessation of water supplies, which, as coldly predicted in the document, would cause "a deterioration in sanitary conditions and the forced departure of residents from cities."
According to the publication, the document does not specify which Russian agency prepared it; however, according to several European officials interviewed by the publication, the authors may have been connected to Russian military or intelligence services.
As Russian missiles and drones systematically struck power plants in Kyiv and Kharkiv this week, the ongoing outages of electricity and water increasingly resemble an alleged Russian plan to destroy life in major Ukrainian cities, which the Guardian newspaper has seen. Even when Donald Trump unilaterally announced an "energy ceasefire" between Moscow and Kyiv last week, Russia continued its methodical and destructive strikes on Ukraine’s power grid, including in Kyiv, as part of a strategy aimed at punishing Ukraine’s population and driving the country to capitulation
According to the publication, this year "Russia appears to be putting these plans into practice."
In particular, on Tuesday evening, Russian strikes hit three major power plants in the Kyiv region—CHP-4 and CHP-5, and the Trypilska Thermal Power Plant in the Kyiv region—as well as a major electrical substation that transmits electricity from the country’s two main nuclear power plants to the capital.
These, together with other substations forming the "Kyiv energy ring," which helps supply electricity from across the country to the capital, became targets of a Russian barrage that, if successful, could threaten a humanitarian catastrophe in the city of 3 million people
It should be recalled
Russia attacked Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in 10 regions overnight and in the morning of October 17, leaving some residents without electricity. Electricity outage schedules are in effect in a number of regions.