Instead of power plants, Russia now targets substations and high-voltage lines

“The enemy’s new tactic is continuous strikes on substations and transmission and distribution lines, particularly near large cities with high levels of energy consumption,” Ukrenergo said.

The company said the attacks complicate or even prevent the transmission of the required amount of electricity to certain areas, even when surplus generating capacity is available in other regions.

Ukrenergo also said Russian forces are directing most of their attacks at the main transmission networks that carry electricity to different regions. In addition, constant air raid alerts in some areas prevent emergency repairs from being carried out quickly.

Energy workers remain under constant threat, the company said. Russian forces have repeatedly struck locations where engineers and specialized equipment were operating.

“The combination of these factors is forcing consumers in some Ukrainian regions to go without electricity while no restrictions are in place elsewhere,” the operator said.

“To avoid a surplus of generating capacity, electricity is being exported.”

On Oct. 8, Ukrainian Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal said Russia had attacked a critical energy facility in Kyiv. Emergency power outages were introduced in the capital. Water supplies were disrupted during the day, and metro and surface public transportation services were temporarily suspended.