Unleashing Chaos: The Energy War Raging between Russia and Ukraine
Russia and Ukraine Engage in Energy Conflict
Caught in the midst of a confrontation, the battle between Russia and Ukraine unveils a central energy dimension that foreshadows the blueprint for future conflicts. Dubbing this struggle an 'energy war' doesn't overexaggerate the situation. It does not revolve around the traditional contest for resources like oil, gas, or minerals essential for non-carbon technologies. Instead, it emphasizes that energy facilities - power plants, transmission lines, oil refineries, and more - have turned into prime targets for both sides.
Reasons to Strike Energy Sites
Russia's attacks on energy sites started as its initial invasion faltered and failed to seize control over Kyiv and Ukraine's government. The Kremlin's strategy morphed into a three-pronged mission of attacks on civilians, military bases, and the electrical grid, concentrating heavily on the latter two. As Ukraine entered the fray, they began targeting sites in Russia only in 2024, with Western governments granting permission to use long-range weapons across the border. A significant portion of the Ukrainian military's action evolved around striking Russian oil refineries and oil storage facilities.
The efficiency of these attacks shone in damaging several major refineries far from the Russian border. Some examples include Ryazan near Moscow and Volgograd near the Caspian Sea with at least 15 others hit one or more times. In 2025, Ukraine transitioned to drone technology, developing their own hardware and software, eliminating the need for approval. The attack codenamed "Spider's Web" on June 1, which dispatched drones to multiple bomber sites, demonstrated that no Russian target is invincible. A drone attack on refineries in particular would result in catastrophic harm for the Kremlin.
While the motives for attacking energy sites differ for the two countries, there's some overlap. Ukraine strikes refineries and storage sites since they're where high-value fuels like gasoline, jet fuel, and diesel are produced and stored. These fuels earn more revenue than crude oil per unit volume and have played a vital role in finance Russia's war efforts. Militarily, they're particularly vulnerable, laden with highly flammable liquids and gases. Data from the last two years of attacks, assembled in a joint study by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Frontelligence Insight, show that energy sites have become an increasing focus of Ukrainian attacks.
Russia's Assault on Nuclear Plants: Zaporizhzhia and Beyond
Among the most impactful strikes have been on large power plants such as the Kakhovka hydropower dam, a crucial facility on the Dnieper River. In June 2023, the dam suffered explosions and collapse, resulting in flooding of downstream towns and villages, with hundreds of deaths and people still missing. While Russia accused Ukraine of the disaster, Russian soldiers have been found involved in attacks on at least six other hydropower installations.
As early as the first months of the war, Russian troops targeted the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in southeastern Ukraine. With six reactors and a total capacity of 5.7 billion watts, it's Europe's largest power plant, larger than any in Russia. Explosions, gunfire, and drone attacks have repeatedly endangered the plant, causing damage to structures and equipment. Proximity monitoring and site visits by teams from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed that all reactors are shut down and, along with the spent fuel pool, remain intact with no radiation leaks at the moment.
Raphael Grossi, Director General of the IAEA, stated that "the dangers to nuclear safety continue to be very real and ever-present." The agency has also had to send teams to the Rivne, Khmelnytskyi, and South Ukraine nuclear plants, which suffered loss of power from Russian attacks, briefly affecting reactor cooling systems. Although near-heroic efforts have been made to repair the damage, Ukraine's grid system may have been reduced by 50% or more. Meanwhile, Moscow has instructed its military to avoid attacking any major gas pipelines transiting through Ukraine, hoping that these might be used again for sending gas to Europe once total victory is achieved.
As of January 1, 2025, Ukraine shut off the last of these pipeline flows, marking the end of a 60-year connection. In case peace is attainable, enormous amounts of money will have to be spent before Ukraine can once again support its economy and people with the energy required for a fully functioning state.
In the interest of brevity, details from the Enrichment Data section have been incorporated into the core article as appropriate.
- The Ukrainian military's focus on striking Russian oil refineries and storage facilities is driven by the high-value fuels like gasoline, jet fuel, and diesel produced and stored in these sites, which have played a significant role in financing Russia's war efforts.
- Russia's assault on energy sites, particularly nuclear plants, such as the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, has posed significant risks to nuclear safety and has been a topic of concern for international organizations like the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
