Russia renewed a campaign of aerial attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities in March, which Kyiv says has knocked out half of its power generating capacity and forced Ukraine to introduce rolling blackouts in the capital and across the country.
Russia says energy infrastructure is a legitimate military target and denies targeting civilians or civilian infrastructure. The attacks have spurred concerns about the resilience of the ailing power system this winter.
The Kyiv School of Economics estimates Ukraine’s energy sector has sustained $16.1 billion in direct losses since Russia’s February 2022 invasion, including $8.5 billion from the destruction of electricity generating plants, $2.1 billion from disruption to transmission facilities and $3.3 billion from damaged oil and gas infrastructure.
Ukrainian authorities often do not disclose which plants have been hit or how badly for security reasons.
Here is an overview of each attack this year.
March 22
Russia attacked Ukraine with 88 missiles and 63 Shahed drones, of which only 37 and 55 were shot down, according to Kyiv. The wave was described by officials as Russia’s largest airstrike on its energy infrastructure in two years of war.
The attack struck Ukraine’s largest dam, the DniproHES hydroelectric power facility in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, eight times. At least five people were killed and more than a million others were left without power.
Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said around 20 substations and electricity stations had also been hit.
DTEK energy group said it lost 50% of its generating capacity in the attack. The 10-unit Zmiivska thermal plant in northeastern Kharkiv region was destroyed.
March 24
An underground natural gas storage site in western Ukraine was attacked, energy company Naftogaz said.
March 29
A major Russian missile and drone attack hit thermal and hydro power plants in central and western Ukraine. The Ukrainian military said its air force had intercepted 58 of 60 drones and 26 of 39 missiles of various types in the attack. Five of the six DTEK power stations sustained serious damage, the company said. The Kaniv hydroelectric power plant was among the targets along with the Dniester hydroelectric plant.
April 10
A Russian missile and drone attack damaged energy facilities in the Black Sea region of Odesa and the nearby city of Mykolaiv, causing blackouts. The Air Force said Russia launched 17 drones and three missiles in the attacks. Fourteen drones and two of the missiles were downed, Ukraine said.
April 11
Russian overnight strikes completely destroyed the large Trypilska thermal power plant outside Kyiv, a major supplier for the regions of Kyiv, Cherkasy and Zhytomyr. The Trypilska plant was the biggest energy facility near Kyiv and was built to have a capacity of 1,800 megawatts. The Air Force commander said Ukraine shot down 18 incoming missiles and 39 drones. A total of 82 missiles and drones were used in total.
April 12
Attacks by Russian drones caused a fire at an energy facility in the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region and damaged critical infrastructure in the southern Kherson region. Ukraine said it shot down 16 of 17 incoming drones. Russia also used a Kh-59 guided air missile for the attack, Kyiv said.
April 27
Russian missiles pounded power facilities in central and western Ukraine, officials said. Ukrainian air defences brought down 21 of the 34 incoming missiles. DTEK said four of its six thermal power plants were attacked again.
May 8
Russia hit critical energy infrastructure in the Stryi district, where Ukraine has a major underground gas storage site, and a power generation facility in Chervonohrad district in western Ukraine. Air defences brought down 39 of the 55 incoming missiles and 20 of 21 drones, Ukraine said.
May 31
A Russian missile attack destroyed a power facility and damaged the power grid in Kyiv, DTEK said. Russia launched 53 missiles and 46 drones. Ukrainian air defences destroyed 35 missiles and all drones.
June 1
Russia launched a barrage of missiles and drones that damaged energy facilities and critical infrastructure across Ukraine. The attack damaged energy facilities in the east, centre, and west, grid operator Ukrenergo said. The Air Force said it shot down 35 of 53 Russian missiles and 46 of 47 attack drones in the attack. DTEK said two of its thermal power plants had been hit and equipment “seriously damaged”.
June 20
A missile and drone attack hit energy infrastructure in four eastern and central regions, Ukrenergo said. DTEK said one of its thermal power plants was seriously damaged. The attack injured three power workers and caused blackouts in some areas. The air force said it shot down five out of nine missiles and all 27 drones fired in the attack.
Missiles and drone attacks have been particularly successful in the Ukraine War. In fact, combined with the lessons derived from the battles between Azerbaijan and Armenia, drones are being inducted in large numbers by forces of many countries.
Team Bharatshakti
(With Inputs from Reuters)
