Russian strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure (2022–present)
During the autumn and winter of 2022–2023, Russia launched waves of missile and drone strikes against energy infrastructure as part of its invasion of Ukraine. The strikes targeted civilian areas beyond the battlefield, particularly critical power infrastructure, which is considered a war crime. By the end of 2023, Russian forces launched about 7,400 missiles and 3,900 Shahed drone strikes against Ukraine according to Ukrainian military officials.
| Russian strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Russian invasion of Ukraine | |
Streets of Kyiv following Russian missile strikes on 10 October 2022 | |
| Location | Ukraine (spillover into Moldova, Poland and Belarus) |
| Date | Sporadic airstrike waves since 14 September 2022 |
Attack type | Missile and drone strikes |
| Weapons | 3M-54 Kalibr, Kh-101, Kh-555 cruise missiles, 9K720 Iskander ballistic missiles, S-300 air-defence missiles, Tornado rockets, Shahed 131, Shahed 136 drones, Kh-22 cruise missiles |
| Deaths | 77 (per U.N.; up to 25 November 2022) |
| Injured | 272 (per U.N.; up to 25 November 2022) |
| Perpetrators | Russian Armed Forces |
On 10 October 2022 Russia attacked the power grid throughout Ukraine, including the in Kyiv, with a wave of 84 cruise missiles and 24 suicide drones. Further waves struck Ukrainian infrastructure, killing and injuring many, and seriously affecting energy distribution across Ukraine and neighboring countries. By 19 November, nearly half of the country's power grid was out of commission, and 10 million Ukrainians were without electricity, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. By mid-December, Russia had fired more than 1,000 missiles and drones at Ukraine's energy grid. Several waves targeted Kyiv, including one on 16 May 2023 in which Ukraine said it had intercepted six Kinzhal missiles.
Deliberately depriving Ukrainians of electricity and heating during the cold winter months was the biggest attack on a nation's health since World War II. The attacks on power stations inflicted large economic and practical costs on Ukraine. The strikes were part of Russia's 'Strategic Operation for the Destruction of Critically Important Targets' (SODCIT) military doctrine, said the UK Defense Ministry, intended to demoralizing the population and forcing the Ukrainian leadership to capitulate. This is widely deemed to have failed.
The strikes were condemned internationally, with the European Commission describing them as "barbaric" and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg calling them "horrific and indiscriminate". President Zelenskyy described the strikes as "absolute evil" and "terrorism".