Russia’s targeted airstrikes have already seriously compromised Ukraine’s ability to provide electricity to its own citizens. Even after the European Union’s vote in March to increase energy exports, the prospect of a serious power shortage taking hold by the summer looms over the entire country unless a way to significantly increase imports can be found.
This year has already seen significant targeted Russian strikes on energy infrastructure, with those living in the cities of Kharkiv, Kryvyi Rih, Mykolayiv and Odesa, as well as those in the wider Dnipropetrovsk region, suffering more than most. A particularly intense wave of overnight airstrikes on 22 March left more than a million people without power nationwide.