NATO warns Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy sector will continue all winter
Photo: NATO warned that Russia's attacks on Ukraine's energy sector will continue throughout the winter (Getty Images)
Russia will intensify attacks on Ukraine's energy facilities. The strikes are expected to continue nonstop throughout the winter, a senior NATO official stated.
He said that Russia's air campaign against Ukraine continues on a large scale, now mainly targeting critical national infrastructure with the start of the heating season.
"With the current daily pace of over 180 kamikaze strike drones, we expect this campaign to escalate and continue without pause throughout the winter," the NATO official noted. He added that in September, Russia launched approximately 5,500 strike drones against Ukraine, and in October, around 2,400.
"Russia is maintaining a high strike pace, carrying out four large-scale attack waves using its long-range bomber fleet in September," the NATO representative said.
The official noted that Russia has more than doubled the number of launch sites for kamikaze strike drones since December 2023, when it had only five such sites.
In mid-September, Russia built a new site in Bryansk, equipped with launchers and storage areas, and recently used a new launch site in Crimea for the first time.
"This increase in launch sites for strike drones corresponds to the high launch tempo, enhancing their intensity and diversifying the directions and geographic range of attacks," the NATO official emphasized.
Strikes on Ukraine's energy sector
Since the beginning of autumn, Russia has launched a series of attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure. The main targets are thermal power stations, combined heat and power stations, and other energy facilities.
On the evening of Tuesday, October 14, emergency power outage schedules were introduced in several regions.
Due to the difficult situation in the power grid caused by previous Russian strikes, electricity was cut in Sumy, Kharkiv, Poltava, Dnipropetrovsk, and partially in Kirovohrad, Kyiv, and Cherkasy regions.
According to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine expects that electricity problems may continue amid new Russian attacks, which will require importing power from the EU.
