Russia’s Strikes on Ukraine’s Power Grid: A Question of Tactics, Not Revenge

Russia's Allegations

Claims: Striking Ukraine’s energy sites as payback for attacks on its own civilians.
Reality: The situation is far more complex.

February 3, 2025: Russian defence ministry claims a big attack was a "response" to Ukrainian "terrorist strikes."
October 2022: Russia blamed its first big hit on the Crimean Bridge on a Ukrainian strike.

Initiation of Conflict: Russia started the full-scale invasion of Ukraine; it cannot claim to be defending itself.
Different Targets and Tactics:
- Russia:
- Focuses on civilian infrastructure in crowded cities.
- February 3 Attack: 71 missiles and about 450 drones hit power plants in Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Dnipro.
- Impact: Often kills or injures civilians, as seen in a recent drone attack that took the lives of three toddlers and their father.
- Ukraine:
- Directs long-range fire at oil refineries that supply fuel to Russia’s war machine.
- Targets: Usually far from cities, so civilian casualties are rare.
- Goal: To cut off the money and fuel that Russia uses to buy weapons and run its army.

2025: Struck almost 160 oil facilities in Russia.
Impact: Caused a fuel shortage and forced Moscow to stop gasoline exports for part of the year.
Precision: Attacks have become more precise, targeting specific refinery parts that are hard to replace.

Targets: Homes, heating, and electricity plants.
Goal: To break civilian morale by making life difficult during the cold season.
Expert Opinion: This is a deliberate tactic to pressure society rather than weaken an army.

2025: UN recorded over 2,500 civilian deaths and more than 12,000 injuries in Ukraine.
Cause: Most casualties happened because of Russian attacks on civilian sites.

The narrative that Russia’s strikes are revenge for Ukrainian actions does not hold up under scrutiny.
The two sides target very different assets and aim at different goals, with Russia’s attacks largely targeting civilians.