Putin ordered major Ukrainian cities to be made uninhabitable, The Guardian

Apparently, Russia has already begun to put this plan into action.

Even after US President Donald Trump unilaterally declared an “energy ceasefire” between Moscow and Kyiv last week, Russia continued its methodical and destructive attacks on the Ukrainian energy grid, particularly Kyiv.

Split image featuring a man speaking in a suit and a background of a wooden panel, alongside a night scene of a city street with traffic and illuminated churches.

This is part of a strategy designed to punish Ukraine’s population and push the country toward capitulation, The Guardian reports . The potential goals of this Russian campaign, which Ukrainian intelligence claimed was intercepted last month, reportedly range from “reducing the quality of life” for Ukrainians through power outages to completely cutting off water supplies.

The Guardian withheld some specific details of the military assessment at the request of the Ukrainian Ministry of Energy, as they could help Russia in further attacks on the country.

“These are two large documents—written very calmly and very clearly, with tables showing the number of weapons needed to destroy each target,” Ukrainian Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal said last month. “The types of weapons range from ballistic missiles to jets and conventional drones. We understand how they will operate.”

The document lists vulnerable targets of the Ukrainian energy system.

This secret plan, which officials say was intercepted by Ukrainian intelligence, has several objectives. It includes the destruction of power generation, heating, water supply, and sewerage systems, making life in Ukrainian cities unbearable. The destruction of just one power generation facility, the document states, would lead to a “significant decline in the quality of life for the population.”

To this end, the document specifies the number of weapons to be allocated—Geranium 4/5 jet drones, as well as hypersonic and cruise missiles—to destroy key infrastructure, including thermal power plants, substations, water pumping stations, and much more.

Addressing the impact on Ukraine’s water, sewer, and heating systems, the document says this would create a “large-scale public utility infrastructure crisis.”

Several European officials familiar with the document noted that it was most likely created by analytical units linked to the Russian military or intelligence services. They said copies of the document had circulated in Ukraine in previous years.

This year, however, Russia appears to be putting these plans into action. Recently, for example, Russian strikes hit three major power plants in the Kyiv region – CHPP-4 and CHPP-5 – as well as the Trypilska Thermal Power Plant in the Kyiv region. They also hit a major electrical substation that transmits electricity from the country’s two main nuclear power plants to the capital.

These facilities, along with other substations that make up the Kyiv Energy Ring, which helps deliver electricity from across the country to the capital, have all become targets of the Russian strike. If the plan succeeds, it could threaten a humanitarian catastrophe in the city of 3 million people.

This could destroy more than 90% of Kyiv’s planned winter electricity supply, the document predicts. This would plunge the city into darkness and cold. Experts predict that in a worst-case scenario, blackouts could last up to 20 hours a day until the damaged equipment is repaired.

For the Kremlin, this is no coincidence.

Russia is increasingly moving toward a strategy of “punishing the population of Ukraine in major cities” as the front lines freeze.

“Last year, we were truly on the brink,” said Ukrainian political scientist Volodymyr Fesenko. “But this year, the risk will be even worse – so the plan [to attack Ukrainian infrastructure] looks realistic. There’s a very high probability that Russia will try to break us this winter.”

While the Kremlin once believed in the possibility of a clear military victory, it may no longer consider this possible and is focusing on destroying the remaining Ukrainian infrastructure rather than attempting to seize it.

(c)UNIAN 2026