Attacks on the power grid
Vladimir Putin justifies Russian airstrikes: part of Ukrainian “demilitarization”
A worker stands in front of the remains of a power plant in Kharkiv. Russia is increasingly attacking Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
© Vyacheslav Madiyevskyy / Imago Images
Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to wear Ukraine down. He described the ongoing shelling of Ukrainian energy facilities by the Russian military as a necessary response to attacks by Kiev.
According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the recent Russian air strikes on the Ukrainian energy grid have, among other things, “demilitarized” the Ukrainian energy system Ukraine to the goal. “We assume that in this way we will exert influence on the military-industrial complex in Ukraine,” Putin said on Thursday at a meeting with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko in Moscow.
The attacks are also a response to Kiev’s attacks on Russia’s energy infrastructure, particularly refineries. “We have recently observed a number of attacks on our energy facilities and have been forced to respond to them,” Putin continued.
Vladimir Putin’s army attacks Ukrainian energy infrastructure
However, the Russian armed forces did not target Ukrainian power systems this winter “for humanitarian reasons.” “We didn’t want to cut off the power supply to social institutions and hospitals,” said the Kremlin boss.
In the winter of 2022/2023, Russia carried out numerous air strikes on the Ukrainian energy network. Millions of people were repeatedly without electricity or heating for hours at temperatures below zero degrees Celsius. There were initially fewer attacks this winter, but since the end of March Moscow has been attacking the Ukrainian energy grid almost daily.
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On Thursday, Russia fired around 40 drones at key infrastructure in Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelensky then again called on Western allies to supply more air defense systems.