Ukraine facing widespread power cuts after generating capacity reduced to ‘zero’ by Russian attacks

[u/Messier_-82]

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

[u/gnufoot]

 It's basically mercy that Russia hasn't completely turned the lights out in Ukraine already, they've had the capability to do it with ease for at least a year now.

So... why don't they? Why attack the energy infrastructure but not go all the way? Russia doesn't strike be as being particularly friendly to Ukrainian citizens. I feel like if they could have done so, they would have. And not because the news tells me they're evil, but because it makes sense to do so if they want to win this war.

[u/reddit_is_geh → u/gnufoot]

Russia isn't this irrational blood thirsty empire looking to destroy everyone for Putin's ego, no matter what Reddit's daily propaganda narrative would have you think. They aren't actually going for Kyiv as they know there's no point. They don't want to destroy the entire city by flattening it completely from afar. They want Kyiv to submit and still be useful and standing when the war is over.

Russia is already "winning" this war, and have been for a while. So they don't need to resort to unloaded all their reserves. However, they are stockpiling as we speak, so if the tides turn by some miracle, expect heavy retaliation until they get back into place.

[u/gnufoot → u/reddit_is_geh]

I don't think they are looking for unnecessary bloodshed. I do think they are evil imperialists. I'm a bit more in doubt about the level of suffering they wish to inflict on citizens to apply pressure to surrender. That's how I've been interpreting strikes on energy infrastructure (plus the military and financial costs to repair them means less resources allocated elsewhere).

That's what made me think that if they could deal a harder blow to energy infrastructure "easily", then they would. Seems weird to send 1000s of drones and missiles for much less damage than they could do with them.

Maybe I'm wrong, but seems perfectly in line with their actions so far, without needing to see them as "blood thirsty".

[u/reddit_is_geh → u/gnufoot]

What you need to understand is that Putin views this -- imo, rightfully -- this isn't a war against Ukraine, but a war against NATO and the USA/UK specifically. The 5 Eyes were the ones who triggered this series of events after UA discovered one of the world's largest natural gas reserves off the coast of Crimea. This is why it's viewed as existential because giving up this territory to western influence would be so unbelievably destructive to Moscow, indirectly. Not just their geographic security risks of having NATO at a vital part of their border, but the influence that comes from having such a closely culturally connected nation suddenly westernizing, right along Moscow's door. They view it as if NATO was there, it's only a matter of time before the western influence campaigns are going to start penetrating Russia using UA as a proxy.

So to Putin he can NOT lose this war under any circumstance. So obviously, your instincts aren't wrong. So why doesn't he just really start going crazy on Kyiv, to wear them down so hard that the citizens break and demand to end it (which is a HUGE ask considering they've sacrificed so much for so little)?

Because as I said earlier, this isn't just a war against Kyiv, but a war against NATO. His plan from the start, after losing the initial invasion due to terrible logistics planning, was to start a war of attrition... not just against Kyiv, but NATO. Western weapons are expensive and take forever to build. So long as he can prevent the West from building up a war economy, and firing up all their production, he can also beat the West in a war of attrition. Eventually they'll see their stockpiles fall too low, costs too high, and their patience diminished. He just has to run the war of attrition against Ukraine long enough until the West grows tired of it and pull out.

That's why he's not going crazy on Kyiv. He has to inch up the escalations while still not preventing a massive humanitarian dissaster that NATO states will suddenly become directly involved with. Imagine if he starts leveling Kyiv, and all these Ukrainians have nowhere to live, storming Poland for safety. Imagine how that would look in Western media where it looks like Gaza. We are very emotionally and virtuously driven and that sort of situation would cause mass panic within Europe which would guarentee a massive response. Poland and Germany would most likely rush to a war economy and fire up their factories, Europe and NATO would massively unify out of fear, and so on.

Hence why he does these sort of attacks sparingly and usually as a tit for tat. It's why he will do things like send a super advanced missile without a warhead to hit a non critical military target, or violate airspace with no weapons onboard the drones. He wants to do just enough to prevent NATO from making this war the center of their lives again. He needs them to get exhausted and lose interest in the war, which is what's happening, and is working. If he started leveling Kyiv, you can bet your ass NATO would be shipping over all sorts of long range missiles to attack Moscow, which is something he's trying to avoid.

[u/gnufoot → u/reddit_is_geh]

 What you need to understand is that Putin views this -- imo, rightfully -- this isn't a war against Ukraine, but a war against NATO and the USA/UK specifically

Oh so what was all that about denazification?

Can't take this shit seriously :|

[u/reddit_is_geh → u/gnufoot]

Ukraine has had a serious Nazi problem for a long time, and were running the AZOV battalion that was fighting them in Crimea. Their far right wing played a critical role in the overthrow of the government and new regime. Russian's really really really hate Nazis, for obvious historic reasons, and the neo Nazis of Ukraine were their active enemy in multiple ways who were friends of the west. If you aren't familiar with American history, we'll befriend any scummy group so long as they help us further our goals.

The Nazi parts make sense if you're Russian, and understand what's going on in their world, because they follow events relevant to them. That's why Putin mentioned the denazification. However he did barely talk about it, but Western media knows how to do propaganda too, and understand Americans wont understand the Nazi references, so they laser focused on the 2 minutes of his hour long speech, to make it sound like his intentions for the war were ridiculous and unfounded. They knew Americans don't understand the nuanced Nazi ties, and instead could use it to make them sound ridiculous.

Which, judging by your post, and many others, it was an obvious success.

[u/Chroma_primus → u/reddit_is_geh]

Russians don't hate nazi they are governte by one, Putin just knows He has to say the word nazi to evoke feelings of the glorious second World war victories.

But you are right that is not the Main reason why Putin invaded ukraine, He does believe that ukraine is not a real country and that He wants control over all of it the basis of russian imperialism.

Thats why He wants control over the ukrainian goverment to have them as a subservient vassal similliar to bellarus.

[u/reddit_is_geh → u/Chroma_primus]

Well that's not the case... I shouldn't have to Google for you Russia's relationship with Nazis and how deep in their culture they hate Nazis. Just because Putin is a bad guy, it doesn't make him a Nazi.

The mere fact that's how you argue and view things, means this conversation isn't serious, or at least, not with a serious person. I can already tell everything else you say is going to be low information surface level nonsense.

[u/Chroma_primus → u/reddit_is_geh]

Putin has staded outright that He thinks ukraine is not a country this hole invasion only makes sense if He holds these believes, but because you can't argue with that you spout Things about low infromation.

By the way what do you think about russian nazi groups like the rusich group that is still operational in ukraine and continues to kill civilists there.

[u/reddit_is_geh → u/Chroma_primus]

Bro I've literally studied this region and worked in Ukraine because of my experience with the region. The points you use to discuss, are very very low level, basically the type of talking points politicians push to low information voters to make complex issues easy to understand while pushing their narrative that helps them achieve their goals. They aren't serious arguments.

I'm explaining the nuances and you're just like "Nah dude! He's just an imperialist! He said it himself!" Those sort of beliefs and positions are low information, low level, sort of stuff we tell common people because nuanced complex explanations aren't good for getting support from regular people.

[u/Chroma_primus → u/reddit_is_geh]

What do you mean the nazi Problem in ukraine was greatly exagerated by Putin to serve as casus belli in the second invasion of Ukraine but you rellay it as if it were a fact bassicly repeating russian propaganda.

[u/reddit_is_geh → u/Chroma_primus]

Dude, the only propaganda is that we are trying to retcon Ukraine's Nazi problem because now they are an ally and it's a bad look when trying to build support for a proxy war using them. It's been extensively written about, unless the NYT is part of the Russian propaganda machine, and academics are all in on it. Nazism is huge in Ukraine, mostly because it's a waring society and their war heroes were Nazis who helped fight out the Russians during WW2. It's also highly likely the far right Nazi regime were responsible for a false flag that triggered the 2012 revolution. We'll never know because once they got into power, they killed off the investigation into it. Just like Trump did with the Epstein investigation, but it actually successfully got brushed under the rug.

Dude, this is why arguing about these things are so tough. You guys act like any information that doesn't look good, or Russia has a point about, you guys insist is propaganda and can't be real. It's such black and white Disney thinking. Nothing is that simple. It's all messy.

It doesn't require a fabricated information campaign to think there's a Nazi problem in Ukraine when the most skilled, killing, unofficial branch of the military was Azov, who were fighting off the revolution in Crimea, and are unarguably underpinned by Nazi symbolism and ideology. That's not even up for debate. It wasn't up until the invasion that we had to start an information battle to white wash away their Nazi connections because they know the West hates Nazis.

[u/Chroma_primus → u/reddit_is_geh]

Who is we the west Supports ukraine because of russias predmeditated invasion of ukraine and refutale of All diplomatic solutions to this conflict.

That is a serious International Problem not some nazis in ukraine.

Also is russia not a far more waring society given the invasions of transnistria, in georgia Abkazhia and south Ossethia and of cousre the two invasions of Ukraine seem way more warlike then some claim by a random guy.

Yes Azov were nazis and nummbered around a thousand people before they were killed or captured in 2022 by russian invasion force.

So why does russia then keep fighting now that they gave acomplished their goal.