Russian missile strikes cripple Ukraine's energy grid— ISW report
Russian missile strikes against Ukrainian energy infrastructure since March 2024 have likely caused long-term damage to the energy sector and repeated energy blackouts, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported on May 16.
Ukraine's largest private energy operator DTEK warned in late March that more accurate and concentrated Russian strikes are inflicting greater damage to Ukrainian energy facilities than previous Russian attacks did.
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Russian forces will likely continue to conduct mass strikes to cause long-term damage to Ukrainian energy infrastructure as degraded Ukrainian air defense capabilities persist until U.S.-provided air defense missiles and other Western air defense assets arrive at scale, the ISW said.
Long-term damage to Ukraine's energy grid that generates persisting energy disruptions threatens to constrain Ukrainian efforts to expand its defense industrial base.
Russian forces are reportedly able to conduct fixed-wing drone reconnaissance deep in the Ukrainian rear due to Ukraine's lack of air defense interceptors, the report said.
Ukraine had to reduce the supply of surface-to-air missiles (SAM), allowing Russian reconnaissance drones to fly more freely into Ukrainian rear areas, including over Kharkiv, the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) reported on May 14.
Ukraine's decreased air defense interceptor supplies have forced Ukraine to increasingly make difficult decisions between deploying air defense coverage to critical infrastructure in rear areas or to frontline areas, the RUSI said, the ISW reported.
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