ISW: Russia wants to force Ukraine to invest more in protecting infrastructure than in a counteroffensive
The Russians are trying to weaken Ukraine's will to fight and force the Ukrainian government to use additional resources to protect civilians and energy infrastructure instead of sending them on a counteroffensive in the east and south.
Source: American Institute for the Study of War (ISW)
Details: ISW writes that Russia's campaign to strike Ukraine's energy infrastructure is creating a humanitarian tragedy without significantly changing the situation on the battlefield, as power outages, combined with winter weather and damage to homes, will only increase civilian suffering. Russian justifications for such strikes are becoming less and less convincing. Russian envoy to the UN Vasily Nebenzya said on October 22 that Russian drones are hitting civilian targets in Ukraine only because Ukrainian defensive fire causes the drones to change course, which, according to ISW, is strange.
Recall: Since October 10, 30-40% of the total Ukrainian energy infrastructure has been hit during Russian attacks that were aimed at destroying the energy system of Ukraine. Ukraine has lost 4,000 MW of generating capacity. Now Russia has caused damage worth billions of dollars.