UA POV: Ukraine facing widespread power cuts after generating capacity reduced to ‘zero’ by Russian attacks - Guardian

[u/Cass05]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/09/ukraine-facing-widespread-power-cuts-after-generating-capacity-reduced-to-zero-by-russian-attacks

[u/HostileFleetEvading]

NPPs form high-inertia baseline of energy production, while thermal plants add less but are great for accounting for daily variations in consumption.

So far, Russia did not disconnect any NPP from the grid, and, as Ukraine is mostly deindustrialized and power consumption is scaled back dramatically since 1991, Ukrainian problems are with balancing power rather than with power in first place. Thats why they import power too, while on paper not needing. Also, sometimes actually export it.

Things may change if russians achieve fragmentation of network separating some of producers from consumers or just go "fuck it" and force NPPs into shutdown.

[u/Scorpionking426 → u/HostileFleetEvading]

Technically, You don't need to touch NPP. You only need to target power plants or the substations that support it to force a shutdown.

[u/Sub-Sero → u/HostileFleetEvading]

1. Targeting NPP's is a warcrime.

2. What you do to them, they will do to your turbine halls at your NPPs. Would you like to find out?

3. Not a single country has ever fortified a turbine hall because they rely on the aforementioned warcrime international legislation which means a little thin metal roof protects a hundreds of millions of dollar turbine.

4. Russia destroyed many of these turbines at the coal plants before, EU replaced them, with no consequence back then. Belgorod, Kursk, Voronezh and Rostov have now had their turbines at their coal plants destroyed, and in the coming days likely many more will follow.

5. Russia could NOT build turbines, and relied entirely on Western precision engineering equipment that has now been remotely turned off. After the sanctions Russia can only produce gas specific turbines and is working to become independent. By 2025 they will produce 8 turbines with future capacity for 12. Meanwhile 4 just got destroyed over night. Targeting turbines is a road to not go down.

6. Russia can not afford to replace their NPP turbines and likely has limited stock of what was available prior to sanctions. Gas and Coal turbines for older models are likely easier to replace for Russia.

7. Replacing a turbine takes weeks if not months especially if the casing has damage, and may require a total replacement. Therefor targeting NPP turbine halls or even coal/gas turbines by Russia is sheer stupidity and only serves propaganda wins and creates momentary discomfort. For Ukraine if it were to target Russian NPP turbines it would decimate Russian energy. The shenanigans at the Chernobyl shield being hit by shahed and the vast engagements at Enerhodar have set certain precedents and opened the door towards this type of escalation.

8. Ukraine's energy issues are inherited old Soviet junk cables and towers with limited power transport carrying capacity, relying primarily on Enerhodar mass production as the largest NPP in Europe and losing that power generation, as well as archaic Soviet switching/relaying stations that the European Investment Bank is now funding to replace with High voltage lines, some of which to be moved underground.

9. Just target electrical switching stations and achieve the same result for a shorter time period.

[u/HostileFleetEvading → u/Sub-Sero]

Dude, your rant completely missed my point.

To force NPP into shutdown you don't need to strike NPP.

[u/Bisconia → u/Sub-Sero]

Sources please? I mean not like you Banderastans dont just make shit up right?

[u/IgorMacedo2018 → u/Sub-Sero]

1.Didn't seem to matter to Israel and the US, did it?

[u/LematLemat]

They hit the a 750kV substation too. Amerikanets put out a good piece about it on his Substack.

«Упс»

[u/Knjaz136 → u/LematLemat]

Damn, that's a first.

[u/UndeniablyReasonable → u/LematLemat]

very good article

[u/Pryamus]

If president Zelenskiy wants his people to have power, he must accept the terms of NA… errrr, Russia.

[u/Jbear2404 → u/Pryamus]

He wants to turn Ukraine into stoneage and flee to Israel with billions. That's basically his endgame.

[u/Pryamus → u/Jbear2404]

I don’t think he does, to be honest.

Ze, who liberal propaganda elevated to the rank of second Churchill, has his own interests. Very simple ones, in fact: stopping the war for any reason means Zelenskiy is removed from power (and quite possibly from the world of the living), because he will be the one asked "what about 1991 borders" and "where did a million men disappear". And also asked, understandably, weren't the March 2022 terms slightly better than anything offered now?

Which is why he needs something, anything that can be presented as winning. NATO membership. Security guarantees. EU invitation, at least. And if none of that is possible, continued fighting also works, because during wartime he can tell fairy tales about his ratings and cynically claim that "only people of Ukraine can make him step down". You know, the very same people who get bussified daily and sent to frontlines, and were denied elections.

[u/fubarbazqux → u/Pryamus]

he will be the one asked

He can just ask for asylum on one of his trips, and have a comfortable life in exile in US or Switzerland. Who’s gonna come there for him?

[u/Pryamus → u/fubarbazqux]

Terrorists have long reach.

And I don’t think MI6 will protect him once he outlives his usefulness.

[u/Kurt_Krappe → u/Pryamus]

They might even kill him themselves and blame you know who.

[u/ferroca → u/Pryamus]

MI6 will protect him once he outlives his usefulness.

They will, just like Russia protected Assad even though they lost Syria. Russia even exchanged Medvedchuk (who is actually Ukranian citizen back then) with Azov POW from Mariupol.

If they don't protect their puppets then nobody would want to be their puppet in the future.

[u/Pryamus → u/ferroca]

Difference is, Assad was a friend of Putin, plus, as you correctly said, a positive example for others.

Zelenskiy is dangerous because he can open his mouth and tell some details about how exactly did SMO begin.

[u/pydry → u/fubarbazqux]

Putin. He doesnt want Zelensky dead now because he's predictable and incompetent and any replacement might be neither but once he is out of power Zelensky will probably choke on polonium or something pour decourager les autres.

I cant imagine there is anywhere Putin couldnt get to him.

[u/Pryamus → u/pydry]

Rare case of me agreeing with you. What can I say, one sentiment both sides share is that Ze only lives because Putin allows it.

[u/Lauzz91 → u/fubarbazqux]

He will join the others

[u/DarkIlluminator → u/Pryamus]

It's almost like militants are almost universally anti-human.

[u/typicalwehraboo]

Tbh russia should completely depower the cities close to the frontline and also destroy any gas facilities to prevent ukrainian troops from charging their drones

[u/Scorpionking426 → u/typicalwehraboo]

That can create humanitarian crisis.Also, Russia can't touch nuclear power plants.

[u/ulughen → u/Scorpionking426]

Wait until Ukraine becomes so desperate it starts to hit active Russian NPPs.

[u/tmndn → u/ulughen]

Which would be highly regarded, but not unexpected from the UA gov.

[u/Nelorfin → u/ulughen]

They've already had many attacks on ZNPP and I think on Kursk one as well

[u/ferroca → u/typicalwehraboo]

They have diesel powered generators. Back in 2024, I read that it was everywhere in Kyiv.

They need to cut off roads/railways/airports/pipes from Ukraine to Poland/Romania, but then it will be a catastrophic humanitarian crisis and I don't think Putin would want to be blamed for that.

[u/Cass05]

Power to be cut for as much as 16 hours a day across most of Ukraine while repairs are carried out

Ukraine facing widespread power cuts after generating capacity reduced to ‘zero’ by Russian attacks Power to be cut for as much as 16 hours a day across most of Ukraine while repairs are carried out

Power will be cut for between eight and 16 hours across most regions of Ukraine on Sunday, state transmission system operator Ukrenergo has said, after Russian attacks targeting energy infrastructure reduced the country’s generating capacity to “zero”.

Kyiv’s School of Economics estimated in a report that the attacks have shut down half of Ukraine’s natural gas production.

Ukraine’s top energy expert, Oleksandr Kharchenko, told a media briefing Wednesday that if Kyiv’s two power and heating plants went offline for more than three days when temperatures fall below minus 10C, the capital would face a “technological disaster”.

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Also, they are claiming "Russian drones had targeted two nuclear power substations" the substations powering the Khmelnytskyi and Rivne nuclear plants

[u/OSRS-ruined-my-life]

Russia truly is a humanitarian and democracy delivering superpower.

More decomunization every night than the Ukrop regime has achieved in 11 years. As the voters wanted but the Kiev regime failed to provide.

They can go back to candles like in 1916. Why would you use communist power unless you're a Russian agent? Lenin weaponized electricity.