why Russia is targeting electricity and energy facilities again

Russian strikes “severely” damaged three Ukrainian thermal power plants during the night from Thursday to Friday. Six people were injured and power outages were reported in ten regions.

Strikes which force Ukraine to lose power. Three Ukrainian thermal power plants suffered significant damage on Friday March 29 after massive Russian strikes which left six people injured. The national operator Ukrenergo said “forced to urgently make cuts [de courant] until evening” in three regions due to “lack of production capacity” of electricity. The Ukrainian Energy Minister had previously stated that a “massive attack” had targeted energy production sites in the regions of Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava, and Cherkassy. Of the “restrictions” were already in place in two other regions after previous bombings.

In recent weeks, Moscow has stepped up its airstrikes against Ukraine, firing dozens of missiles and launching dozens of explosive drones at the assaulted country’s energy infrastructure. kyiv had already suffered a massive bombing campaign against its power installations in 2022 and 2023, but had held up rather well due to stronger anti-aircraft defenses. Franceinfo explains to you why the Russians are attacking such targets again.

To “punish” Ukraine

Moscow justified its strikes in response to attacks carried out by kyiv in Russia in recent weeks. On March 23, two civilians were killed and several others injured in a drone attack in the Russian region of Belgorod, which borders Ukraine. The town of Belgorod was targeted by rocket launcher strikes, damaging several residential buildings. kyiv has also targeted Russian oil refineries and other energy facilities in this region.

The same day, Russia claimed to have repelled an attack by ten Ukrainian missiles targeting Sevastopol in Crimea, a peninsula annexed in 2014 by Moscow. The next day, Ukraine said it had struck two Russian ships in the Black Sea. “Ukrainian armed forces managed to hit the Yamal and Azov amphibious ships, as well as a communications center and other infrastructure of the Russian Black Sea Fleet”specified the Ukrainian armed forces.

Targeting energy infrastructure is strategic. “In a strike campaign, you have to concentrate on a specific objective for it to be effective. If you sprinkle your strikes everywhere, there will not be a massive effect”explains Michel Goya, military historian, to franceinfo.

“Since the end of 2022, the Russians have particularly focused on the Ukrainian energy and electricity network because it is the nervous system of the country. This disrupts all economic life.”

Michel Goya, military historian

at franceinfo

After his re-election, Russian President Vladimir Putin also described Ukrainian attacks in Russia as an attempt to scare residents and derail the election he won. He had promised to respond, recalls the Associated Press.

To further weaken Ukrainian air defense

These Russian strikes also aim to saturate the Ukrainian defense, which has been under tension for months. “It depends in particular on equipment such as Buk batteries and S-300s”, explains Michel Goya. Gold, “These batteries date from the Soviet era and refueling them is very complicated. They are not manufactured in Europe [occidentale] and Eastern European countries have already provided stocks”, explains the former soldier.

In 2023, Ukraine’s allies have well supplied Patriot defense systems. But the ammunition is running out. “The batteries are there but no longer the missiles. The defense cannot therefore cover all the attacks”, continues Michel Goya. While waiting for new deliveries, the Ukrainians are therefore looking “to fire old Western missiles, like the Hawk missiles, with Soviet batteries”, illustrates the specialist.

For several months, kyiv has been asking its Western allies for more aid. Traveling to the United States on Thursday, President Volodymyr Zelensky warned of “the spectacular increase in Russian air terror”. But the $60 billion in American aid wanted by Democratic President Joe Biden has been blocked for months in Congress by the Republican camp supporting Donald Trump. On the Brussels side, political divisions have hampered the delivery of weapons and the sending of funds in recent months.

To make progress on the ground

Even if strikes are distinct from ground operations, the success of one facilitates the success of the other. “Great depth strikes can, for example, help to paralyze a ground command system”, continues Michel Goya. However, Russian forces have been gaining ground for weeks in eastern Ukraine, particularly with the fall of the fortress town of Avdiïvka in mid-February. In March, they claimed to have captured the village of Nevelské, near the city of Donetsk (already under Russian control). They also claimed the capture of Orlivka and Ivanivské, near Bakhmout.

While Ukraine also faces the problem of recruiting new soldiers, the Kremlin has shifted to a war economy, dedicating a large part of its budget and industry to military production. Moscow also ensures that, every month, tens of thousands of men sign contracts to join the army.