The goal of the operation is to isolate cities including Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odesa and Lviv by cutting electricity and heating by 90%, which President Zelenskyy told the Financial Times is intended to destroy morale and spark a new wave of refugees into the EU. The New York Times, which obtained a copy of the strategy, noted it could not independently verify the document. Ukraine's officials have privately expressed concern over limited backup plans for the water infrastructure, which Russia has not previously attacked on this scale.
Tuesday, October 20, 2026
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Russia's Largest Attack Campaign Seeks to Destroy 15 GW of Ukraine Power
War18 days ago
An intercepted Russian plan outlines a strategy to collapse the national energy system by targeting power, heating and water networks throughout the coming winter. According to a document shown by Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal to European partners in Paris, Moscow intends to eliminate nearly 15 GW of generating capacity—the bulk of the capacity Ukraine had at the end of summer—using up to 1,000 missiles, drones and bombs. The three-stage attack targets western border substations, then hydroelectric plants, and finally the switchyards at the Rivne, Khmelnytskyi and South-Ukraine nuclear plants to force them offline. The plan also includes the first large-scale assault on wastewater and pumping facilities using dozens of ballistic missiles and glide bombs.
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