Ukraine strikes back: Attacks target Russian energy hubs

Ukraine targets Russia's energy infrastructure. Strikes have been made on an oil depot, artillery, and a power plant. "This is the beginning of a long-term campaign aimed at the Russian energy system," Konrad Muzyka, a military expert and head of Rochan Consulting, told us.

Ukraine is responding to Russian attacks on its energy infrastructure. The local general staff confirmed effective attacks on an oil depot in the Rostov region, another in the Kirov region (935 miles from the border with Ukraine), and an artillery depot in the Voronezh region, about 250 miles from Moscow.

In the last few hours, there have been more reports on social media, including recordings of attacks on Russian territory. Loud explosions were heard near the Konakovo power plant in the Tver region, one of the largest energy producers in central Russia, and at the Moscow Oil Refinery.

"In the coming months, Russia will be the target of many attacks, not only on military targets but also on technical infrastructure. This is the beginning of a long-term campaign aimed at the Russian energy system," military analyst Konrad Muzyka, head of Rochan Consulting, told us.

The expert points to two factors that allow such blows to be struck. "First, production has ramped up significantly, and Ukrainians can build significant quantities of reconnaissance and strike drones — including those with longer ranges. Second, they are conducting very advanced work on producing their own long-range missiles — we are talking about cruise and ballistic missiles," Muzyka points out.

Positive test results of such a missile were reported by Volodymyr Zelenskiy at the end of August. However, production capabilities remain an open question. At the same time, the Ukrainian Defense Forces also used a domestically produced long-range drone for the first time against a military target in Crimea.

"Ukrainians planned to produce a million drones of various types this year. The Minister of Strategic Industries, Oleksandr Kamyshin, recently said that their production capabilities far exceed that million," adds Konrad Muzyka.

The interviewee from Wirtualna Polska points out that effective Ukrainian operations using drones on the aggressor's territory reveal the Russians' shortcomings and their Achilles' heel. "The effectiveness of drones results from the weakness of the other side," says military expert Konrad Muzyka.

"Ukrainian aircraft can fly hundreds, if not thousands, of miles, indicating that Russia's anti-aircraft defense is porous and very shallow; probably most systems are near the border, and when Ukrainians cross that zone, they fly unnoticed," he adds.

The head of Rochan Consulting emphasizes that if the strikes are to have a long-term impact, they must occur more frequently and intensively. "A drone attack once every two weeks, once a month, is not enough. There's too much time to maintain tension; the Russians will have time to harden, move production, and shift forces," Muzyka assesses. However, he is convinced that "with the emergence of new Ukrainian capabilities, there will certainly be more attacks".

How do Western partners react to the strikes on Russian territory? Our interviewee indicated that they were not received with excessive enthusiasm. "Ukrainians take actions that, from their perspective, are most beneficial but do not necessarily fit the Western way of waging war," Konrad Muzyka believes.

"I think that in private conversations, there might be requests to 'slow down' some actions, which in my opinion, will not happen. Ukraine is disappointed with Western aid. At this stage, they are conducting operations they believe will have the best chances of success and the best chances of ending the war," he evaluates.

He recalls that in the winter of 2022, Reuters published an article in which the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and Amnesty International noted that Russian attacks on Ukrainian critical infrastructure might have the hallmarks of war crimes. Earlier, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, spoke similarly.

"Attacks on civilian infrastructure are forbidden," Muzyka points out. "However, the war on the Russian side is being waged by the state; essentially, the entire state is involved in this process, so the Ukrainians probably assume that everything affecting Russia's abilities to wage war must be destroyed," he emphasizes.