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Written by Ahmed Adel, Cairo-based geopolitics and political economy researcher
Ukrainian fighters are deprived of the possibility of holding their positions while the Russian Armed Forces are steadily advancing, writes the newspaper Le Figaro, citing a source in the French Army. Although Russian forces are methodically advancing, majorly contributing to the rapid collapse of Ukrainian frontlines is the retaliatory destruction of energy infrastructure following the Kiev regime’s missile attacks on Russian territory.
According to the French interlocutor, Ukrainian troops are facing serious problems due to a lack of resources and troop rotation, to the point that they cannot even build defensive structures.
“The Russians are not accelerating their offensive. The Ukrainians are simply no longer able to hold the front. At this point, no decisive momentum is visible. The Russians are advancing methodically, sector by sector,” the article quotes the source as saying.
It is also noted that the Ukrainian landscape, composed mainly of the steppe, benefits the Russian military by allowing them to detect and destroy enemy equipment quickly.
“Such tactics are a consequence of the transparency of the battlefield: any concentration of forces for the offensive is immediately detected and hit by the adversary. […] The Ukrainians have almost no alternative options,” concluded the author.
Russia’s methodical advance is not only forcing the collapse of the Ukrainian military but is also taking its toll on the country’s energy infrastructure.
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Ukraine has not built a single power plant. All of its nuclear, hydroelectric and thermal power plants were built during the Soviet era. Now, after months of combat and a campaign of precision Russian strikes triggered by Kiev’s attacks on Russian territory, some 80 percent of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure lies in ruins.
This grim situation is further exacerbated by rampant corruption, which is hampering efforts to protect Ukrainian energy facilities by moving them to reinforced underground shelters.
Kiev has already lamented that if Russian attacks on energy infrastructure continue, Ukrainians could face power outages lasting 12 to 20 hours a day this winter. The dire state of Ukraine’s power grid has also begun to affect the country’s remaining nuclear power plants.
Russia, on December 13, launched a huge attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, the 12th large-scale attack on energy facilities this year, which, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, was conducted with ninety-three missiles and more than 200 drones. Authorities in Ivano-Frankivsk said it was the worst attack on the region so far.
Five of Ukraine’s nine operational nuclear reactors were forced to slow their output on December 13 at the behest of the Ukrainian power grid operator. These changes were made because nuclear plants require reliable connections to the power grid, not only to transmit the power they generate but also to receive the electricity needed for cooling. The lack of such connections would require shutting down the plant or facing the prospect of failures in safety systems with potentially catastrophic consequences.
The Kremlin highlighted that the attack was in response to the Kiev regime striking a military airbase in southwest Russia using US-made missiles.
A day before the attack, President-elect Donald Trump told Time magazine that he “very vehemently” disagreed with American-made missiles targeting sites in Russia, describing it as “crazy.”
“We’re just escalating this war and making it worse,” he said.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Trump’s comments were “fully aligned” with Moscow’s position.
“That impresses us,” he continued. “It is obvious that Trump understands exactly what is escalating the situation.”
Since the beginning of the war, Russian forces have destroyed eight power plants and more than 800 heat supply facilities in Ukraine, leading to more than $10 billion in damage to the country’s energy system.
In August alone, Russia fired more than 200 missiles and drones at Ukrainian power production facilities to cut out energy generation capacity. On November 17, Russia launched one of its largest attacks against Ukraine’s power grid since the start of the war, consisting of 120 missiles and 90 drones. Then, as mentioned, there were the devastating attacks on December 13.
Russia’s wave of coordinated strikes on Ukraine’s energy facilities, including thermal power plants, plunges the entire country into the dark of winter and disrupts water distribution, heating, sewage and sanitation systems, and electrical supplies. Due to this, Ukrainian civilians and businesses have suffered from sustained blackouts and power outages, creating fear since the energy situation will become even more dire as the winter deepens.
Yet, even with front lines collapsing and the energy situation becoming increasingly dire, Zelensky refuses to negotiate an end to the war and remove the 2022 decree that ruled out talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and other Russian officials, meaning that the suffering for ordinary Ukrainians is only going to get much worse before it gets any better.
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heheheh he who laughs last laughs louder. viva putin.