In winter, the hum of electricity becomes almost intimate. It glows behind curtains at dusk, runs through kettles and radiators, lifts the ordinary life of cities into warmth and light. In Ukraine, that hum has become something else as well — a reminder of fragility, of how thin the line can be between illumination and dark.

When missiles and drones trace their paths toward substations and power plants, the sky seems to fold in on itself. Transformers shudder. Transmission lines fall silent. And in the hours that follow, neighborhoods wait for current to return.

In recent months, Russia has renewed and sustained attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, striking power generation facilities, substations, and transmission nodes across several regions. Ukrainian officials have described the damage as severe, with rolling blackouts implemented to stabilize the grid. Emergency crews work through debris and twisted metal, often racing against the approach of colder weather.

Some observers have framed these strikes as retaliation — a form of revenge for Kyiv’s expanding deep-strike campaign inside Russian territory, where Ukrainian drones have targeted oil refineries, fuel depots, and military-related infrastructure. The logic of tit-for-tat can appear straightforward from a distance: one side hits fuel facilities, the other hits power plants.

Yet analysts and reporting from major outlets suggest a more consistent pattern at work. Russia has targeted Ukraine’s energy grid repeatedly since the early phases of the full-scale invasion in 2022. Waves of strikes on electricity infrastructure occurred well before Ukraine’s long-range drone operations intensified. The campaign has been described by military analysts as part of a broader strategy to degrade Ukraine’s economic resilience, strain civilian morale, and complicate defense logistics.

Energy systems are not only about light and heat. They underpin rail networks, industrial production, water pumping stations, and communications. By focusing on the grid, Moscow exerts pressure that radiates outward into daily life and military sustainment alike. Ukrainian authorities have acknowledged that while air defenses intercept many incoming drones and missiles, the scale and repetition of attacks make complete protection impossible.

At the same time, Ukraine’s deep-strike operations have evolved with their own strategic intent. Targeting refineries and fuel storage facilities inside Russia can affect military supply chains and impose economic costs. These actions are widely viewed as attempts to weaken Russia’s capacity to sustain prolonged operations, rather than symbolic gestures alone.

In this sense, the campaigns run in parallel rather than in sequence. The strikes on Ukraine’s grid are not new, nor do they appear to be solely reactive to recent Ukrainian actions. They align with an established pattern of targeting critical infrastructure as a means of leverage in a protracted conflict.

International humanitarian law places restrictions on attacks against civilian infrastructure, particularly when such strikes risk disproportionate harm to civilians. Both sides have accused the other of violations. The debate continues in diplomatic forums, even as repair crews return to damaged substations and engineers attempt to reroute current through compromised networks.

In direct terms, Russia’s renewed attacks on Ukraine’s energy grid are part of a sustained strategy that predates and operates independently of Kyiv’s deep-strike campaign inside Russian territory. While the timing of specific waves of strikes may overlap, analysts do not broadly characterize the grid attacks as simple retaliation or revenge.

As winter approaches once more, the contest over power — both electrical and strategic — continues. In apartments across Ukraine, lights flicker back on after outages. For a moment, rooms brighten. The hum returns. And beyond the window, the sky remains unsettled.

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