In Ukraine, Moscow wants to make the life of the population untenable

“The extent of the damage is comparable to or could exceed the consequences of the October 10-12 attack. » The Ukrainian operator Ukrenergo did not hide its concern, Saturday, October 22, following new strikes by the Russian army targeting the country’s electrical infrastructure overnight. A few hours later, an adviser to the Ukrainian presidency, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, confirmed the extent of the damage: more than a million homes are now without electricity in the country.

Chaos and escalation to regain the initiative

Since the appointment of a new Commander-in-Chief for operations in Ukraine, General Sergei Surovikin, Moscow’s strategy has been confirmed day after day: if it cannot prevail on the ground, it is a question of restoring life untenable for the Ukrainian population, so far massively united behind its president Volodymyr Zelensky, in its resistance to the invasion of the Russian army.

A veteran of the second Chechen war in the 2000s and the 2017 Russian military intervention in Syria, Sergei Surovikin is responsible for implementing this strategy of terror. This is not his first attempt: in Syria, in particular, the Russian forces massively bombarded the cities, razing Aleppo. And they did not hesitate to target hospitals and schools in order to force civilians to flee or submit.

Far from the eastern and southern fronts

The location of the latest strikes in Ukraine is, in this respect, eloquent. This Saturday, Russian strikes targeted energy installations, particularly in western Ukraine, far from the eastern and southern fronts, where Russian troops are retreating, particularly in the region of Kherson (South).

In western Ukraine, electricity and water were cut off in some areas of the Volhynia region. The town of Khmelnytsky was without power and city officials called on residents to prepare for water cuts. In the region of Rivné, still in the West, Governor Vitali Koval indicated that attacks had targeted the“energy infrastructure” in the area, damaging electricity substations.

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Power cuts have even been reported in the region of Odessa (South-West), rather spared so far by the bombardments, after “two missile strikes on energy infrastructure” of the region, » Governor Maxim Marchenko said. The governor of the Kirovohrad region (center) has, for his part, asked local businesses and residents to reduce their electricity consumption after the strikes on« important » energy infrastructure.

Energy Restriction

In fact, at the call of the authorities, Ukrainians have already reduced their electricity consumption by 5% to 20% on average on certain days and in certain regions, Ukrenergo boss Volodymyr told AFP. Kudrytsky. However, energy restrictions are « forced » in several regions, including the capital kyiv and its region, specified the operator Ukrenergo, assuring that its specialists were taking “all measures to restore electricity supply as soon as possible in regions currently without electricity”.