Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
The Kremlin's goal is a humanitarian catastrophe in Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Odesa.
Russians are using increasingly powerful weapons against Ukraine's energy sector to paralyze it. And this is confirmed by a document that Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal presented to European partners in Paris two weeks ago. It contains information about plans by the Russians to cause the collapse of Ukraine's energy system through airstrikes, The New York Times writes, citing a copy of the document.
"The plan describes a campaign of strikes using up to 1000 missiles, drones, and bombs. They will target a wide range of facilities, including electrical substations, hydroelectric plants, thermal power plants, and boilers," the media write, adding that the Russian Federation will also try to disable the three largest Ukrainian nuclear power stations — Rivne, South Ukraine, and Khmelnytskyi, which form the backbone of the country's energy grid. To this end, it will attack switchgear that connects stations to the grid.
Separately in the plan, Moscow is said to be targeting Ukrainian water supply systems, including pumping stations and treatment facilities, which it has not yet attacked on a large scale. Kyiv has privately expressed concern that the country's contingency plans for such a scenario are limited.
"The ultimate goal is to cut off major Ukrainian cities from electricity, heat, and water, which could lead to a humanitarian crisis," NYT writes. "Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Odesa are singled out as primary targets, with plans to reduce electricity supply to these cities by 90%, cut heating supply by 90%, and seriously disrupt the sewer system."
In total, the plan consists of three stages of attacks: the first is to strike substations near Ukraine's western borders that import electricity from Europe, the second to disable hydroelectric power plants, and the third to halt the three nuclear power plants. The Russians intend to remove almost 15 gigawatts of generating capacity—the amount Ukraine had at the end of summer.
To be continued.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "РФ розробила план, як заморозити Україну. Етапи операції включають удари по АЕС, гідроелектростанціях та імпорту електрики з ЄС — NYT". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: ZN.ua.