The Russian strategy of strikes against Ukraine's energy infrastructure has undergone changes. Instead of the large-scale attacks that characterized the period of 2022-2023, the enemy is now using high-precision missile strikes on power plants located in less protected regions.
The consequences of these attacks are less extensive, but the damage is greater than in the past, according to Ukrainian officials. According to the Financial Times, some power plants may not be able to be restored until next winter.
During the period from 22 to 29, Russian forces attacked seven thermal power plants and two hydroelectric plants. However, energy facilities in Kyiv remain intact, as the capital is equipped with one of the strongest air defense systems. According to data, some power plants, in particular in the Kharkiv region, were almost completely destroyed.
Maksym Timchenko, general director of DTEK, explained that during the Russian attacks, their group lost about 80% of production, five thermal power plants were forced to stop working. The main goal remains to restore as many damaged objects as possible before the onset of cold weather. There is a plan to restore at least half of the damaged power units in the event of no further attacks.
Noting the changes in Russian tactics, the head of Ukrenergo's communications department Maria Tsaturyan reported that there are no longer mass attacks across the country, as was the case in 2023. Instead, the Russian Federation aims missiles at power plants in certain regions with the aim of their complete destruction, since their restoration is extremely difficult in a short period of time.
Tsaturyan explained that the Russians are attacking five to six energy facilities in one region, using the same number of missiles that they used in massive strikes in 2022-2023. Large power plants that take a long time to recover are difficult to protect.
Another difference from previous attacks is that the Russian Federation has started using high-precision ballistic missiles. According to Andrii Herus, head of the Ukrainian Parliamentary Committee on Energy and Public Utilities, during the latest attack on a coal-fired power plant, the Russians used missiles worth $100 million.
Andrii Chernyak, a representative of Ukrainian military intelligence, noted that the Russians also use drones to attack energy facilities, particularly transformers, in order to reduce costs. He added that the missiles that the Russian Federation is using now were produced recently, and according to estimates, the Russians have only one or two such attacks left.
Earlier, the chairman of the board of NEC "Ukrenergo" Volodymyr Kudrytskyi said that in order to avoid the serious consequences of Russian attacks, Ukraine needs to build hundreds of small power plants throughout the territory, but this should not affect tariffs for the population.
