ESCALATION COMES AS ZELENSKY VISITS LONDON AND KING CHARLES, WILLIAM AND STARMER EMERGE AS HIS BIGGEST SUPPORTERS TO USE LONG RANGE WEAPONS TO STRIKE RUSSIA
HAVE THEY UNDERSTOOD THE IMPLICATIONS FOR THEM PERSONALLY?
IF THE UKRAINE IS FIGHTING FOR ALL OF THEM AS STARMER SAID, THEN THEY ARE ALL LEGITIMATE TARGETS FOR RUSSIA S HYPERSONIC MISSILES, DRONE SWARMS AND NUCLEAR SUBS AND FACING TOTAL ANNIHILATION FROM RUSSIA S SUPERIOR, DIVERSIFIED FIRE POWER
RUSSIA CAN TARGET UNDERWATER INTERNET CABLES, NUCLEAR POWER STATIONS AS WELL AS THE ENERGY AND FINANCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE OF THE WEST AS WELL AS THE RESIDENCES OF THE OLIGARCHIC LEADERSHIP OF THE WEST SUCH AS WINDSOR CASTLE
From media
A powerful Iskander-M ballistic missile strike has destroyed a Ukrainian long-range drone launch site near Martovoe. Up to 65 Lyuty drones, four trucks, and five launchers were wiped out, with 30 Ukrainian casualties including drone specialists. The attack comes amid growing reports that Western-supplied Patriot air defence systems are failing against Russian missiles. The Iskander-M, now a central weapon in Moscow’s arsenal, continues targeting key Ukrainian infrastructure and high-value assets, marking another major blow in the ongoing conflict.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiiPIBFgonE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_fXEIHYz3I
Amid growing tensions over stalled ceasefire talks, Russia has reportedly advanced its glide bomb technology, introducing new jet-powered variants capable of striking deep behind Ukrainian lines. These upgraded weapons, equipped with turbojet engines and improved guidance systems, mark a major leap in Moscow’s air warfare capabilities - and a serious challenge for Ukraine’s already strained air defenses.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwXmGhYzHO8
From media
https://www.bankingnews.gr/diethni/articles/833871/chaos-how-russia-is-splitting-and-erasing-kyiv-and-eastern-ukraine-a-black-winter-with-20-hour-daily-power-outages
Ukraine’s nuclear reactors are under mounting threat as Russia intensifies strikes on the nation’s energy grid. The sustained assault aims to plunge cities into darkness, disrupt critical infrastructure, and weaken Kyiv’s ability to sustain its war effort through the winter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vWxI0paRKc&t=57s
Chaos – How Russia is splitting and “erasing” Kyiv and Eastern Ukraine: A black winter with 20-hour daily power outages
Already in many parts of Ukraine — including Kyiv — power outage schedules are being enforced, with strict cuts for residential consumers. Many families are left without electricity and water for 6–8 hours or more each day.
The latest massive Russian air assault, involving 405 drones and 28 missiles — including Iskander and Kinzhal types — has caused extensive destruction to Ukraine’s power grid.
Today’s Ukraine increasingly resembles Romania in the 1980s under Nicolae Ceausescu’s regime, when households “enjoyed” electricity for only a few hours each day.
The same picture of collapse and decay now unfolds across Ukraine, where some regions risk being left without heating or electricity for up to 20 hours a day.
Russia’s strategy is clear: to cripple Ukraine’s energy system, forcing Kyiv — under social and political pressure — to accept the reality on the battlefield and enter negotiations to end the war.
Widespread power outages
After a new wave of large-scale Russian strikes, the situation in Ukraine’s energy sector has deteriorated dramatically.
“The situation is particularly difficult in the Chernihiv and Sumy regions, which are on the verge of a total blackout.
There are also problems in Zaporizhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, Kherson, and Kyiv,” said energy market expert and head of the Union of Utility Consumers, Oleg Popenko.
In these areas, strict rolling blackout schedules have been implemented: households are often left without power and water for 6–8 hours or more.
“Energy companies are currently recalculating how to restart the system by changing operational configurations,” explained Yuriy Korolchuk from the Institute for Strategic Studies.
“That’s why schedules are released only on a daily basis. Weekly plans may appear by next Tuesday or Wednesday,” he added.
Up to 20 hours without electricity
However, according to Popenko, no major improvements should be expected — especially if Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure continue.
“It’s possible that this winter, many cities will be without power for up to 20 hours a day,” he warned.
Massive power cuts are also affecting industry.
Ukrainian media report that businesses have already been informed about major difficulties not only with electricity but also with gas.
“Enterprises at the regional level have been told to prepare for gas quotas.
Chemical production will likely halt completely, while other sectors will face drastic reductions in output,” the reports said.
Why Russia is striking the left bank of the Dnipro
Experts note that Russia has changed strategy, now systematically targeting energy infrastructure on the left bank of the Dnipro River — an area traditionally energy-deficient — in an effort to split Ukraine’s energy system into isolated ‘islands’.
Since October, Russia has resumed mass attacks on Ukraine’s energy grid.
On October 10, a major combined assault using drones and missiles hit several Dnipro hydroelectric power plants, Kyiv’s TES-5 and TES-6 thermal power stations, and DTEK thermal plants in the Dnipro region.
Russia also began striking transmission substations, especially in the Chernihiv–Nizhyn–Shostka border triangle.
The repeating scenario
In the following days, attacks were repeated in the same pattern.
“The Russians continue to destroy energy facilities,” said Popenko.
Ukrainian MP Mykhailo Volynets reported that on October 22, Kyiv’s TES power stations, the Kremenchuk hydroelectric plant, and oil and aviation facilities were targeted, along with Kamensk hydropower plants in Dnipropetrovsk, Kaniv hydro channel in Cherkasy, and major substations in Sumy and Odesa.
Russia’s objective
After the first major strike on October 10, energy experts confirmed a new Russian strategy.
According to Viktor Kurteev, a specialist in energy systems, while in 2022–2023 the strikes were random, now Russia is systematically targeting energy production on the left bank of the Dnipro, which has always been more energy-deficient than the right bank.
Gennadiy Ryabtsev, head of special projects at the Psychea Research Center, explained:
“The goal is to fragment Ukraine’s unified energy grid across the Dnipro into separate ‘islands’.
That’s why Russia focuses its main strikes on Dnipro hydro plants — which, apart from power generation, contain key transmission nodes.
They are also attacking Ukrenergo substations.
At the same time, Russian forces are attempting to isolate cities that rely on one or two local facilities, cutting them off from energy supply — such as Chernihiv, Kharkiv, and Sumy.”
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The drone strategy
Russia’s plan to split Ukraine’s energy grid into “islands” is not new, but Ukraine’s system is now weaker than before.
Moreover, the tactics of Russian attacks have evolved.
According to Kurteev, drones now fly in swarms, combining reconnaissance and attack units.
“The swarm approaches the target and begins circling.
The reconnaissance drone identifies the air defense position, drawing fire, while the rest head toward the main target,” he explained.
The risk of a massive blackout
Experts warn that the emergence of “energy islands” — with deficit-ridden eastern regions and surplus western ones — poses a direct risk of a nationwide blackout.
By fragmenting the grid, Russia could try to neutralize portable power generation in western Ukraine and disrupt electricity distribution from nuclear plants.
If that happens, nuclear stations may fail to supply power to consumers, leading to frequency surges and potentially catastrophic shutdowns or damage to nuclear units.
Ukraine narrowly avoided such a scenario on November 23, 2022, when more than 10 million consumers lost electricity and water simultaneously.
Although power was restored within 24 hours, some regions waited a week for full recovery.
Failure to protect energy infrastructure
Amid the new strikes, questions are being raised about failures in energy infrastructure protection.
...
Officials reportedly blamed predecessors for the failure of the so-called “turtle” shelters — concrete fortifications for energy sites introduced under former Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov.
However, even where such bunkers existed, Russian strikes shattered them easily.
No real protection
Popenko said the fortification program was largely a corruption scheme.
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Ryabtsev added: “There’s no type of concrete that can resist a direct missile strike. At best, these shelters protect against side explosions or shrapnel — not direct drone or missile impacts.”
Furthermore, according to Popenko, Ukraine also failed in its energy decentralization program, which was meant to make power generation more resilient.
“Western partners provided combined energy units, but many cities never connected them because local governments lacked the tens of millions needed,” he explained.
“In Sumy and Zaporizhia, installation of small boilers has only just begun, while in Mykolaiv, progress is very slow,” he added.
Korolchuk noted that even small thermal power stations (50–100 MW) remain unconnected to the grid, rendering them useless. “Units under 20 MW aren’t even included in national capacity calculations,” he said.
20 hours a day without light or power?
Korolchuk stressed that while large energy plants can eventually be restored, the speed of repairs depends on equipment availability and funding, both of which are limited.
“It seems the enemy is trying to make us destroy our own grid by overloading stations until they fail,” he said.
Ukraine could theoretically improve the situation by increasing power imports from the EU.
According to Ukrenergo chief Vitaliy Zaychenko, agreed import volumes stand at 2,100 MW per hour, but Ukraine currently uses less than 25% of that quota.
Rising electricity imports
From October 11–20, electricity imports rose by nearly 70%, from 76,500 MWh to 129,100 MWh.
However, price caps and damaged transmission lines hinder full utilization.
“As Russia keeps hitting transmission nodes, power can’t easily reach deficit regions. Western Ukraine doesn’t need extra electricity, so imports will likely cover no more than 10% of daily consumption,” said Korolchuk.
Against this backdrop, forecasts for winter energy supply are grim.
“If strikes continue, people could be left without light for 15–20 hours a day,” warned Popenko.
Weather as a critical factor
Korolchuk noted that such conditions will mainly affect left-bank regions, while others may face up to 10-hour outages daily.
“Much will depend on the weather,” he said. “A cold winter will bring outages even without mass strikes.”
Alexander Barsuk, head of Yaroslav company, warned that electricity shortages will drive up prices for all goods.
“Prices will rise because businesses’ costs will soar. Electricity for households should cost around 20 hryvnias per kWh, but no one seems willing to implement that,” he added.
Authorities have already announced that electricity tariffs for households will remain unchanged until April 2026.
What about natural gas?
Another critical issue is natural gas.
Unlike previous years, Russia is now actively attacking Ukraine’s gas infrastructure, reducing domestic gas production by nearly 60%.
Importing gas would require around $2 billion, but even that may not be enough due to volume shortages.
Ukraine is negotiating for additional LNG supplies from the U.S., Slovakia, and Greece.
Deputy Energy Minister Nikolay Kolesnik stated that underground gas storage is 99.5% full (13.2 bcm), but imports will continue due to falling production.
After the latest attacks, gas injection into storage was halted on October 22, and reserves even fell slightly.
Experts warn that Ukraine could end up 10–15% short of the gas needed for the winter.
“The heating season could still be managed, but only under extremely strict consumption limits,” said Korolchuk.
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A need for 4.5 billion cubic meters
In many cities, the start of the heating season has already been postponed to November or even December.
According to Bloomberg, Ukraine will need to import an additional 4.4 bcm of gas by March 2026.
Industry insiders say companies have already been told to expect gas quotas.
“The chemical industry will likely shut down completely. Others will reduce volumes, and some may face total supply cuts in December,” one source said.
“Gas cuts could be disastrous, especially for private households that risk freezing this winter,” warned Korolchuk.
“They also raise the risk of accidents with old gas stoves that don’t automatically shut off in case of sudden interruptions.”
Ryabtsev added that pressure drops in pipelines could cause heating problems and disrupt gas supplies to industry.
“While electricity can be backed up with generators or UPS systems, there’s no such solution for gas,” he emphasized.
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