Russia may pause energy grid attacks in spring — Ukrenergo CEO

"This cannot be ruled out," Kudrytskyi noted when asked about a potential drop in attacks as the weather warms.

"Especially since in previous years, this decline in Russian attacks after winter was indeed observed."

He pointed to the first winter of the full-scale war in 2022-2023.

"From about mid-February, power outages stopped, the effectiveness of enemy shelling dropped sharply, and the Russians eventually focused their attacks on other targets," he recalled.

"Since then, there were no attacks [on energy infrastructure] for over a year."

The enemy's 'appetite' for striking the energy grid is directly proportional to the damage these attacks can cause.

"The less effective the attacks, the less incentive the aggressor will have to carry them out," Kudrytskyi added.

Russian mass attacks in February

On Feb. 3, Russian forces attacked eight oblasts with ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones. The strikes targeted residential buildings and heating-only combined heat and power plants (CHPs) and thermal power plants (TPPs) in Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Dnipro.

Russia launched another mass combined strike on critical infrastructure on Feb. 7, primarily targeting western oblasts. Energy facilities in eight oblasts were hit, including Burshtyn and Dobrotvir TPPs, nuclear power plant substations, and high-voltage lines. Nuclear power plants were forced to reduce generation capacity.

Zaporizhzhya, Kharkiv, and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts consumers remained without electricity, Energy Ministry reported on Feb. 11.

Situation in Kyiv and Odesa oblasts remained difficult.

DTEK Group estimated the cost of restoring its damaged generation facilities at $354 million (300 million euros). The company needs an additional $177 million (150 million euros) in external financing to prepare for the next winter.