Ukraine unleashes missiles: Power plants burning across Russia

Ukraine has opened a new phase of the war by shifting from disruptive drone raids to deliberate, high-precision missile strikes aimed at the heart of Russia’s energy grid. This escalation reflects a strategic decision to target the infrastructure that sustains Russia’s war economy rather than merely harass it. By striking deep inside Russian territory, Kyiv is testing the resilience of a power network already weakened by months of drone attrition. The move signals that Ukraine now possesses both the capability and the confidence to conduct a sustained, long-range campaign designed to outpace Russian repairs and overwhelm regional defenses. It also highlights the growing asymmetry in the conflict, with Russia forced to defend a vast, aging grid against a concentrated, increasingly accurate strike complex. In this context, the attacks on Russia’s thermal power plants are not isolated incidents but the opening steps of a systematic attempt to cripple the state’s ability to wage war.

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