Russia’s War on Civilian Infrastructure

Throughout the war, Russia has repeatedly attacked Ukraine’s critical infrastructure. This has included dams, power plants, wind turbines, and solar capacity.

The attack on the energy infrastructure has been so devastating that it is now estimated that nearly one-third of the country’s power generation capacity has been ruined. The full extent of the damage is hard to gauge, but it is likely to be much higher.

According to the Ukrainian prosecutor general’s office, 92 Russian strikes on energy infrastructure were carried out in October and November alone. The attacks are targeting the high voltage networks that connect power generating facilities to users. This will prevent millions of people in the country from receiving electricity. It will also disrupt the communications and banking networks and create pockets of humanitarian emergencies.

Ukrainian officials said that the latest barrage was the worst of the war so far. It hit the most vulnerable parts of the country, including the cities of Kyiv, Lviv, and Dnipro. It has killed at least 10 people, injured at least two others, and cut off electricity in regions like Zaporizhzhia.

The assaults are also damaging water supply systems. Some of these are essential to the survival of the population. In Lviv, for instance, a woman living in a neighborhood lost electricity for 16 hours on November 28. Another city in eastern Ukraine, Chernihiv, was completely disconnected from electricity.

In addition, the Ukrainian transmission system operator said it was having problems maintaining its power delivery system. As a result, it is difficult to predict when the power grid will be stable.