Ukraine-Russia warfare: Why is Putin focusing on Ukraine’s vitality grid with missile assaults? | EUROtoday

Russia has unleashed one other “massive” assault in opposition to Ukraine’s vitality infrastructure, firing almost 200 missiles and drones and leaving greater than 1,000,000 households with out energy, Ukrainian officers mentioned.

Explosions have been heard throughout the nation as harm to the vitality and different essential infrastructure was reported by officers in cities within the west, south and centre of the nation.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky mentioned Russia used cruise missiles with cluster munitions in Thursday’s assault, calling it a “vile escalation”.

“Energy infrastructure is once again targeted by the enemy’s massive strike,” Ukrainian vitality minister Herman Halushchenko mentioned on Facebook.

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Russia had knocked out about half of Ukraine’s out there producing capability, broken the distribution system and compelled lengthy blackouts.

It is Russia’s second main aerial assault on Ukraine’s energy grid in lower than two weeks in addition to the eleventh main strike on the Ukrainian vitality system since March.

Below, The Independent takes a have a look at why Russia is launching so many strikes and the probably impression of them on Ukraine.

Why is Russia launching the assaults?

To hit Ukraine’s vitality system forward of winter with view to cripple morale

As has been the case yearly because it invaded Ukraine in 2022, Russia has began hitting energy stations and different websites with drive earlier than winter units in, bringing with it plunging temperatures.

The newest assault on Ukraine’s vitality infrastructure on Thursday – the second huge one this month – has additional amplified fears that the Kremlin once more goals to cripple the nation’s energy era capability, bringing lengthy energy cuts in the course of the winter months as temperatures throughout Ukraine hover round zero and beneath.

Professor Mark Galeotti, tutorial and writer of greater than 20 books on Russia, urged the strikes are all a part of the identical sample – supposed to impression Ukrainians’ morale to the extent that they undergo Moscow.

“Putin’s strategy is to make the Ukrainians miserable enough to give up. The Russians are trying to systematically break apart Ukraine’s power grid because it could face a rough winter,” he advised The Independent.

“Once we get into October, temperatures tend to plummet. That’s when you suddenly get a lot more load on the grid and the problems will become clear. Ukrainians will at best have rationed power.”

Quest for revenge and successful data warfare after ‘Kyiv struck Russian territory with advanced Western weapons’

The newest strike comes simply days after Kyiv struck Russian territory with long-range US and UK-supplied missiles.

Moscow says Ukraine fired US ATACMS ballistic missiles into western Russia for the primary time on 19 November and UK Storm Shadow missiles later that week, prompting the Kremlin to reply firing the Oreshnik, a brand new experimental intermediate-range missile, on the Ukrainian metropolis of Dnipro.

Since then, Russia says Ukraine fired extra ATACMS at its Kursk area on 23 and 25 November.

Vladimir Putin mentioned on Thursday that Russia’s in a single day barrage of 90 missiles and 100 drones on Ukraine was launched in response to the ATACMS strikes,

Marcel Plichta, former analyst on the US Department of Defense, advised The Independent: “These strikes usually come after some kind of Ukrainian success story.

“They are part of an information war. It is an attempt by the Kremlin to get back a narrative that shows Russia as the big strong actor in this war and Ukraine as weak and vulnerable.

“They are petty strikes and are about retribution. The targets have not had military value. They have hit apartment buildings or grain silos. It is an attack on the Ukrainian people, not Kyiv’s ability to wage war.”

What probably impression will the strikes have on Ukraine?

At least a million folks within the west, south, and centre of Ukraine have been left with out energy in Russia’s newest strike on the nation, Ukrainian officers have mentioned.

Damage to the vitality and different essential infrastructure was reported by officers in Lviv, Volyn, Rivne and Khmelnytskyi areas within the west, the Mykolayiv and Kherson areas within the south, and Zhytomyr area within the centre.

A supply within the vitality sector supply mentioned Ukraine disconnected a number of nuclear energy models from the community amid the Russian assault. Ukraine depends on nuclear era for greater than 50 per cent of its electrical energy provides.

Lviv governor Maksym Kozytskyi mentioned Thursday’s strikes reduce off electrical energy to about 523,000 folks within the western area on Ukraine’s border with Poland.

Power provides have been additionally reduce to just about 500,000 folks within the Volyn and Rivne areas, the governors mentioned. Electricity provides have been additionally disrupted in Khmelnytskyi and Zhytomyr areas, officers mentioned.

Regional officers throughout the nation mentioned they have been turning on turbines to make sure emergency warmth and water provides to hospitals, faculties and different essential amenities throughout bitter winter climate.

The loud hum of turbines was additionally heard in Kyiv metropolis as many Ukrainian small and medium companies depend on turbines for his or her electrical energy provides in the course of the blackouts.

However, Ukrainian air defence managed to shoot down 79 out of 91 Russian missiles and downed 35 drones, the air drive mentioned.

And the capital Kyiv was focused however all missiles or drones have been downed, officers mentioned.

But Mr Plichta mentioned: “The biggest worry is the affect on the energy grid. If it is damaged enough, it might not be viable for Ukrainians to stay in big cities.”