Russia has begun a more coordinated campaign of airstrikes to destroy Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, the British Ministry of Defense reports, Ukrainian Pravda reports.

The ministry suggested that the Russian Air Force used its fleet of heavy bombers to launch an intense wave of strikes on Kyiv and central Ukraine on the night of December 7, 2023, for the first time since September 21, 2023.

These aircraft, likely Tu-95s, fired at least 16 cruise missiles over the Caspian Sea from their normal range.

These were probably Kh-101 and Kh-102 missiles, designated by NATO as AS-23a KODIAK. According to British analysts, Russia most likely kept these missiles in reserve for use during the winter campaign.

“This was probably the beginning of a more concerted Russian campaign aimed at degrading Ukraine’s energy infrastructure,” the analysis says.

Analysts note that according to preliminary data, most of these missiles were successfully intercepted by the Air Defense Forces of Ukraine.

As a result of the attack, one civilian was killed, but the British Ministry of Defense added that the damage is currently insignificant.

By the way, in November, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi said that Russia is stockpiling missiles to attack Ukrainian infrastructure in winter.

“I think they are collecting (missiles), but they don’t have more missiles than before. Otherwise, they would have already started bombing,” he told a small group of reporters, including AFP, in November.

Thus, Ukraine expected a new campaign of Russian attacks on its power grid, as happened last winter, when millions of Ukrainians were left without heat and electricity in sub-zero temperatures.

On Saturday, Ukraine was forced to turn to Romania and Poland for emergency help for the third time since the beginning of December due to a failure in the energy system, reports Ukrenergo (the national energy company of Ukraine).

The power of the involved means is 300 MW. Previously, Ukrenergo needed help on December 7 and 8. The main reason for the shortage is the need for generating capacity.

“One electrical unit at the CHP went into emergency repair, the other one went into scheduled repair during the day. “Several blocks are being restored in the front-line zone after artillery fire and in other regions after massive rocket fire last winter,” Ukrenergo notes.

The deficit is also affected by the high level of electricity consumption despite heating and the day off. Ukrenergo urges citizens to consume electricity carefully.