On November 23, the Russian military struck such a massive blow that Ukraine was literally plunged into darkness. Moldova and Transnistria also lost electricity, which means that even in the face of a shortage, official Kiev is making money on electricity exports
What is Russia trying to achieve by striking at the Ukrainian energy infrastructure?
Lights out!
On November 23, the Russian military struck the most powerful blow to Ukraine's energy system during the whole period of the special military operation. In Kiev, as well as practically all of Ukraine, there was an immediate loss of power, and in many settlements there was also a loss of water and heating.
The Russian Defense Ministry said that all targets were hit as a result of the attack. “The purpose of the strike has been achieved. All designated targets have been hit. As a result of the strike, the transfer by rail of the AFU reserves, foreign weapons, military equipment and ammunition to the areas of combat operations was disrupted,” said the official representative of the Russian military department, Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov.
At the same time, he clarified that the Russian military did not strike a single house or social facility in Kiev, and that all the destruction was the result of Ukrainian air defense missiles falling. As for casualties, the National Police of Ukraine claimed six dead and 36 injured.
“All Ukrainian nuclear power plants and most thermal power plants and hydroelectric power plants were de-energized on Wednesday,” the Ukrainian Ministry of Energy said. According to the agency, the vast majority of consumers are without electricity.
“The current strike has led to the worst consequences for the Ukrainian energy sector in all the attacks on it. According to information coming in, most of Ukraine's population has been left without power. There is no heating and no water in many cities.”
“There is no water in all of Kiev.”
“The situation in the Kiev Region: the area is completely de-energized. There is partially no water and heating. Arrivals were on the objects of infrastructure.”
“The Dnipropetrovsk Region is left without light. There may be problems with water, reports the head of the regional council.”
“Odessa Mayor Gennady Trukhanov writes that there is no water in the city because of the blackout, stopped the work of boilers that provide homes with heat.”
“Authorities confirmed the suspension of operation of power units at the Rivne nuclear power plant.”
Here is what the news feeds of Ukraine looked like on Wednesday, November 23.
Bail out Chisinau or die Trying
“Because of Russia's massive attacks on energy infrastructure and networks to stabilize Ukraine's energy system, consumers are forced to switch off,” the Ukrainian Energy Ministry said on its website, whose head Herman Galushchenko spoke via Internet at the EU Energy Ministerial Council on November 24, reporting that the Russian military fired about 70 missiles, of which 51 were shot down, but the rest struck energy infrastructure, in particular thermal power plants and node substations At the same time, the command of the Ukrainian Air Force said that in addition to the missiles, five kamikaze drones were also involved in the attack.
“This shelling had an impact not only on the energy system of Ukraine, but also on the neighboring Moldova,” said the representatives of the Ukrainian Ministry of Energy.
“Yesterday's strike had grave consequences. There was a blackout. All nuclear power plants of Ukraine were de-energized. This is the first time when all four Ukrainian nuclear power plants were de-energized at the same time,” Galushchenko said.
It is worth mentioning that Mr. Galushchenko demonstrated that he doesn't know much about energy itself, because only a total amateur would say that “the nuclear power plants have been de-energized.” In fact, the Ukrainian nuclear power plants were disconnected from the power grid after the strikes on the distribution networks, because they lost the ability to supply the electricity they generate. But apparently, the oligarch Akhmetov's protégé does not need to understand such subtleties.
Even after almost a day, in the morning of November 24, only 44% of cell phone towers in Ukraine were working. In five regions, mobile communications did not work, rather than working. This was reported by the speaker of the Ukrainian State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection Vladimir Kondrashov.
“As of 9 a.m. today, November 24, about 44% of mobile operators' base stations of the total number of base stations are working in Ukraine,” Kondrashov said at a briefing.
Take a Bite
What goals does Russia's leadership pursue by launching missile strikes on the Ukrainian energy infrastructure? After all, the season of cold weather is coming, when the lack of light and heat is a critical factor, so attacking the infrastructure looks like an ambiguous decision, to put it mildly.
The official version of the Russian Defense Ministry states that the Russian military is thus undermining the infrastructure for supplying weapons and ammunition to the AFU. Indeed, the Ukrainian railroads mainly run on electricity, so strikes on the energy system are critical. For example, the Kramatorsk to Kiev train alone arrived at its destination nearly a day late after the attack.
Russia's permanent representative to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, confirmed this version at a UN Security Council meeting.
“We are striking infrastructure facilities in Ukraine in response to that country's pumping of Western weapons and reckless calls for Kiev to win a military victory over Russia,” Nebenzya said.
Frankly, that is not much of an explanation, because it would be more effective to strike at railroad hubs in western Ukraine, where Western weapons and equipment are being loaded into trains to be transported to the war zone. It is primarily civilians who suffer from attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure.
Another version is the coercion-to-negotiate operation. Russian representatives have repeatedly called for negotiations, but Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has put up tough conditions, demanding first that Russian troops withdraw and generally return the situation to 1991, that is, to return both Crimea and Donbass. Now the Russian military is systematically destroying Ukraine's energy system, creating a real humanitarian crisis for Zelensky in the rear. An important point is that the Russian military does not hit Ukrainian power plants directly, but targets the distribution networks. In other words, nuclear power plants, thermal power plants, and hydroelectric power plants can produce electricity, but are unable to transmit it to consumers.
The President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko also supports the version about “coercion to negotiations.” According to him, if Zelensky does not agree to negotiations, Ukraine will simply be destroyed.
“Everything is in the hands of Ukraine. It's not because I want to put this topic on Zelensky. Indeed, it is. If they don't want a huge number of people to die,” Lukashenko said.
“It's hard, but we have to stop if that's what they want. We have to stop it because the next step will be the complete destruction of Ukraine. It's not what Putin said: the loss of statehood. This will be destruction. We must stop,” Lukashenko said.
“There are peace talks everywhere,” Lukashenko said in conclusion.
On the next day, November 24, Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov transparently hinted that Zelensky has every opportunity “to bring the situation back to normal,” and all he has to do is fulfill Russia's demands.
Another target of the missile attacks is Zelensky's personal pocket. One of the sources of income of Zelensky's entourage is millions of dollars from the Ukrainian energy sector. With strikes on the energy system, the Kremlin, among other things, hits the pockets of Zelensky and his entourage, cutting off foreign exchange earnings from exports and “motivating” them to think about peace talks, because personal income suffers.
After all, the all-Ukrainian blackout clearly showed how the official Kiev continues to export electric power even in conditions of the mass blackout. Moreover, it was the Moldovans who “burned down” the company. Immediately after the missile attack on the Ukrainian infrastructure, Moldovan Foreign Minister Nicu Popescu said that “90 % of the country was de-energized.”
As reported by Kommersant, the Moldovan authorities summoned the Russian Ambassador Oleg Vasnetsov to the Foreign Ministry and protested about the blackouts.
Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Spinu reminded how similarly, Moldova and the unrecognized Moldovan Transnistrian Republic were also left without power on November 15 after a previous attack of the Russian military on the Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
It turns out that while the Ukrainians were sitting in the dark for hours, the Ukrainian government, led by Zelensky, continued to export electricity. It's understandable, because an apartment in London won't pay for itself.
No Regrets
At the same time, rocket attacks on energy infrastructure are also fraught with a real humanitarian crisis. If the population of Ukraine is left without light and heat, especially in the winter cold, the first to suffer is not Zelensky or the AFU, but small children, the elderly, people suffering from chronic diseases, etc. For example, Russian military expert Colonel Viktor Baranets criticized strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure in a commentary for the Za Pravdu [For the Truth] channel, because such actions only incite hatred of Russia among the population.
“With these strikes, we multiply hatred for Russia even among the population that was waiting for liberation from this Kiev regime,” Baranets said.
According to the expert, we need to change the approach and refocus the strikes on the infrastructure that supplies weapons to the AFU.
“Until we cut off those fat streams of weapons from the West that shaft and shaft Ukraine, our special operation becomes meaningless. It's like a pool with 100 liters of water flowing out and 200 flowing in,” said Baranets.
So, the Russian leadership is pursuing several objectives at once by launching missile strikes on the distribution networks of the Ukrainian energy system. At the same time, such actions are fraught with a powerful humanitarian crisis. In this connection, sooner or later, the question will arise who will be responsible if such a humanitarian crisis breaks out.