Russia either unable or unwilling to destroy Ukraine’s power grid completely, expert says
Firefighters extinguish an energy infrastructure facility in Cherkasy region after a Russian missile strike, October 31 (Photo:State Emergency Service of Ukraine/Handout via REUTERS)
Varying intensity of Russian air and drone strikes suggests Moscow is unable – or unwilling – to completely destroy Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, Conflict Intelligence Team (CIT) analyst Kyrylo Mykhailov said in an interview with NV Radio on Nov. 2.
“If the Russians had the ability and intent of completely destroying Ukrainian energy infrastructure, they would be launching larger-scale strikes, more often,” said Mykhailov.
“More massive air strikes could overwhelm Ukraine’s air defenses, allowing more missiles to reach their intended targets. That’s especially true as Ukrainian forces are becoming more adept in countering such mass attacks.”
Mykhailov noted that the Ukrainian Air Force reports it’s gradually intercepting more and more incoming missiles.
He suggested that Russia perhaps lacks the capability to launch massive missile attacks every day – or to launch more missiles at a time.
“Meaning they lack capacity to completely destroy Ukraine’s energy system – or it’s all just a way to pressure Ukraine and West: ‘if you continue to support Ukraine, we will continue killing Ukrainian civilians, prompting them to flee to Europe, further deepening the migrant crisis.’ It could all be an element of their inhuman diplomacy.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier said that in recent weeks, Russian air and drone strikes damaged nearly 40% of Ukraine’s power generation and distribution infrastructure.
Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google News
