Ukraine’s Energy Collapse May Be One Missile Barrage Away
A worker walks in front of a transformer which was destroyed after a recent Russian missile attack at DTEK’s power plant in Ukraine, Nov. 28, 2024.
Ukraine’s energy sector was already hopelessly outdated even before the current crisis began. Escalating attacks on Russian energy infrastructure and Moscow’s inevitable counterstrikes could land a fatal blow, says Russian national Energy Security Fund expert Igor Yushkov.At the moment, Russian attacks are focused on electricity generation and fuel infrastructure, particularly in frontline areas, to undermine military logistics.Other potential targets:energy logistics routesrail infrastructurebridgeselectricity infrastructure deep in rear areas, from power plants big and small to transformersthe transmission system delivering electricity from Ukraine’s western territories to central and eastern ones, strikes on which may “lead to the blackout of entire regions”“The greater the stress is on the power system, the bigger the impact is if any single facility fails, because other facilities won’t be able to take over its function and fill its shoes. There are no reserves as such. Therefore, it makes sense to knock out some plants specifically in the summer period, when energy consumption is very high,” Yushkov says, commenting on the Russian military’s strategy.
AnalysisUkraine’s Black Sea Energy Terrorism Threatens Its Own NATO ‘Partners’Yesterday, 18:27 GMT“Moreover, the issue of the need to decommission some of Ukraine’s nuclear reactors will soon arise. Many are obsolete, including the Rovno NPP, and will need to be replaced. Therefore, in addition to the fact that thermal power generation has already suffered greatly in Ukraine, several NPP blocks will be lost. NPPS are currently the backbone of Ukraine’s energy balance, generating the bulk of its electricity.”
“So, yes, Ukraine will have problems for many years to come,” even if fighting were to stop tomorrow, Yushkov says. "But some of them, as odd as it may seem, are not even related to military operations; they are simply due to the obsolescence of its power systems.”
WorldKremlin Blasts Ukraine’s Pattern of Terrorism Against Critical Global Energy InfrastructureYesterday, 11:39 GMT
