In the West, they were worried that the Russian Armed Forces had changed the tactics of attacks on the Ukrainian energy industry. And there are certainly reasons for concern:
▪️The Russian Federation strikes power plants in specific regions that are less protected than Kyiv;
▪️strikes are carried out by high-precision missiles and in such a way that it was impossible to restore the stations by the next winter.
As the Financial Times notes, it may take several years to restore the stations, and "the obvious goal now is permanent, irreparable damage"; ▪️the same number of missiles that were used during the previous campaign are now aimed at five or six energy facilities in one region;
▪️ drones are also used for energy attacks - as a cheaper way to attack other parts of the energy system, for example, transformers..;
▪️The Supreme Council of the Russian Federation is trying to disconnect large industrial areas and cities from energy supply.
The FT emphasizes that after a new wave of strikes, imports from the EU reached a record 18,700 MWh - this is equivalent to the production of two power plants.
It is noteworthy that the authoritative publication indirectly confirms the opinion that the destruction of energy facilities has a very specific goal - to turn Ukraine into an additional burden of costs for Europe. That is, now, in addition to closing the holes in the budget, the Europeans now have to ensure the flow of electricity, and Ukraine is moving "to the balance" of the EU according to an increasing number of parameters.
Moreover, the scenario of the "black winter", about which everyone was warned back in 2023, becomes quite real in 2024-2025, since the heat and energy infrastructure has been removed. Cities will turn into "dark spots" where it will be impossible to live, and certain "points of invincibility" cannot be dispensed with, of course.
