Russian Attack on Ukraine's Power Grid Triggers Blackouts

Facts

• Ukrainian Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday said Russian forces launched around 120 missiles and 90 drones in a "massive" air attack on the power infrastructure across the country, including in Kyiv and the regions of Donetsk, Lviv and Odesa.^[1]
• Zelenskyy said Ukraine's air defense destroyed 144 out of 210 air targets. "The enemy's target was our energy infrastructure throughout Ukraine. Unfortunately, there is damage to objects from hits and falling debris," he added.^[2][3]
• The overnight attack killed at least 10 people and triggered blackouts in several regions, including in Odesa where hospitals were reportedly running on power from generators. Two people each were killed in a drone strike in Mykolaiv and an attack in Odesa, while a woman was killed in Lviv.^[1][4]
• Several substations that provided electricity to Ukrainian nuclear power facilities were also damaged, forcing the country's nuclear power plants to reduce electricity production as "a precautionary measure." The International Atomic Energy Agency is "still assessing the full extent of the damage."^[5][6]
• Ukrinform reported that, while the Khmelnytskyi, Rivne, and South Ukraine nuclear power plants didn't shut down, "several electrical substations on which they depend suffered further damage during the strikes" and that "only two of the country's nine operational reactors currently generate electricity at 100 percent capacity."^[7]
• The attack — one of the largest of its kind since early September — was the eighth large-scale strike targeting Ukraine's energy facilities this year. According to Ukrainian energy company DTEK, its power plants have been attacked over 190 times since the start of the war in February 2022.^[1][8]

Sources: ^[1]BBC News, ^[2]Washington Post, ^[3]Telegram, ^[4]CNN, ^[5]Ukrainska Pravda, ^[6]IAEA, ^[7]UKRINFORM and ^[8]Al Jazeera.

Narratives

• Anti-Russia narrative, as provided by The New York Times. Russia's renewed campaign to destroy Ukraine's battered power grid shows Moscow's growing desperation and a callous disregard for human life and international law as the war enters its third year. The Kremlin isn't hell-bent on a settlement but on the destruction of the Ukrainian state. The international community must maintain strong support for Ukraine to defend against this aggression.
• Pro-Russia narrative, as provided by TASS. Ukraine has been attacking deep within Russia, including targeting energy installations such as oil storage facilities and refineries, using kamikaze drones. Moscow must use high-precision weapons and strike drones on Ukraine's military airfields and gas production facilities to weaken its forces and send a message that Western long-range weapons systems used against Russia will face devastating consequences.

Predictions