Russia weaponizes winter with fresh strikes on Ukraine’s power grid

KYIV — Russian airstrikes continue to pound Ukraine’s power grid, part of a calculated strategy to weaponize the winter season against the civilian population. Reports indicate the tactic has remained a constant throughout four years of the conflict.

Ukrainian civilians face a relentless barrage of Russian ballistic missiles and drones. Moscow has made targeting energy infrastructure a pillar of its military strategy, causing widespread power outages and disrupting heating systems during the coldest months of the year.

The strikes are designed to trigger a humanitarian crisis and break public morale. The campaign has left millions of people living in harsh conditions, stripped of the basic necessities required to survive the winter.

Russia’s systematic targeting of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure represents a calculated strategy of attrition designed to maximize civilian hardship and erode the country’s capacity to resist. Beyond the immediate objective of inflicting winter misery, Moscow’s campaign pursues several deeper strategic goals.

First, the strikes force Kyiv into a difficult trade-off: diverting high-value military assets, particularly advanced air defense systems, from the front lines to protect urban centers and utility hubs. This reallocation compromises Ukraine’s defensive and offensive capabilities in key combat theaters. Second, the degradation of the power grid is intended to trigger a humanitarian crisis and drive a surge in internal displacement and outward migration. By weaponizing energy insecurity, Moscow seeks to destabilize Ukrainian society and strain the political and logistical patience of European allies.

Third, the campaign serves as a psychological operation aimed at breaking civilian morale. The Kremlin is betting that prolonged deprivation will eventually exhaust public endurance and undermine support for the government’s war effort. Looking toward the long term, the systematic destruction of the energy sector imposes a staggering fiscal burden on Kyiv, with reconstruction costs likely to hamper Ukraine’s post-conflict economic recovery for decades.

Ultimately, the deliberate targeting of civilian infrastructure to achieve military objectives raises significant questions regarding international law. These actions increasingly align with the definition of war crimes, highlighting a total-war approach that disregards the distinction between combatants and the non-combatant population.

For many Vietnamese Americans, particularly the generation that lived through the war, the sight of Ukrainian civilians enduring a winter without power or heat resonates on a visceral level. These images of devastation stir up traumatic memories of hardship and loss, forging a profound humanitarian bond with the plight of the Ukrainian people.