On April 11th, a Russian missile strike on Ukraine destroyed the next most significant coal electricity and heat generation plant. This week, “Trypilska TES” became their victim. This plant powered the entire Kyiv capital region, the Cherkasy and Zhytomyr regions.
“Last night, Russia launched more than 40 drones and 40 missiles into Ukraine. Kharkiv’s critical infrastructure alone was struck by ten missiles, and other cities including Lviv and Zaporizhzhia were impacted. The situation in Ukraine is dire; there is not a moment to lose.” — The U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink on X social network, April 11.
The loss of the “Trypilska TES” was the next devastating blow to the Ukrainian electricity grid in major metropolitan areas after the Russians destroyed the coal power plant "Zmiivska TES" near large northeastern Kharkiv City, as well as several others.
A critical lack of electricity supply is increasingly disabling ordinary life in Ukraine. In March, this already led to the introduction of evening outage schedules in several regions. This affects everybody: industry, public transportation, healthcare, households, and the state Ukrainian railways "UkrZaliznytsia," disrupting passenger and cargo transportation and war supplies to the front.
This new Russian bombardment strategy is aimed at making large Ukrainian urban areas unlivable and throwing them into a "stone age." Currently, the Russians are focusing on desolating the northeastern city of Kharkiv, which is known for its arms manufacturing. For Putin’s revanchist elites, Kharkiv has a symbolic meaning. In the early 20th century, the Lenin Bolsheviks shortly designated this city as “a capital of Ukraine” before they re-conquered Kyiv.
Putin’s strategy of killing the Ukrainian electrical grid is a direct consequence of his cynical idea, which he openly confessed on television in March. He said he was going to create a “sanitary zone" and added that this is needed “to distance from Ukrainian drone strikes.”
In reality, the reason to desolate Ukraine is different. For two years, the Kremin has been unable to conquer this former colony except for the land the Ukrainians allowed them to grab in the first month of 2022 as a result of a fast invasion. Also, for two years, Russian propaganda has been unable to break the morale of the Ukrainian society and undermine resistance.
Ultimately, Putin calculated that by destroying Ukrainian power plants one by one, he would cause so much outcry in Ukrainian society that it would force President Zelensky to sit at the negotiating table. Putin planned to devastate those power plants during the previous winters. Still, the timely provided Western air defense systems and Ukrainian pin-point counter-strikes on Russian Air Force airborne command aircraft won’t allow that to happen earlier.
The countdown has started until the next winter frost, which will put the final nail in freezing the infrastructure in many urban areas around Ukraine. Without electricity, cities won’t be able to warm up apartment buildings, supply water, and maintain sewage systems. This would lead to mass evacuations and the displacement of millions of Ukrainians.