Russia will likely launch massive attacks on energy sector ahead of heating season - Official

According to him, Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy facilities began to intensify in February this year, destroying about 42 percent of daily gas production within two months.

During June and July, "oil refining was completely destroyed."

Koretskyi said that some of this has already been restored, but Naftogaz is preparing for a new wave of attacks.

"Most likely, (Russia) will now massively attack energy assets before the heating season and winter. This is terrorism, pure and simple," he noted.

Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy sector

Since 2022, Russian forces have been regularly attacking Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

In August, Russia resumed attacking Ukraine’s energy facilities. Russian President Vladimir Putin publicly stated that such attacks would continue and urged his ally, the Slovak prime minister, to cut off gas and electricity supplies.

The Center for Countering Disinformation also noted that Russia may resume massive strikes on Ukraine’s energy facilities. Putin is already preparing an informational alibi for this.

During his visit to Beijing in early September, the Russian leader claimed that Russia "never targeted the energy sector," insisting it only strikes in response to Ukrainian attacks on the oil industry.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed that Ukraine is responding to Russia’s strikes on energy infrastructure and will continue to do so. According to him, no one will simply endure sitting in the dark.

Read more about whether Ukraine is ready for new strikes on the energy sector in RBC-Ukraine’s material.