Ukrainian drones hit Russian-controlled power and gas facilities across east and south
Ukrainian mid-range drones have struck multiple electrical substations and gas distribution stations in Russian-held areas of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv, as well as in Crimea and nearby Russian border regions, turning energy and gas networks into an active part of the battlefield.
Ukraine is expanding its drone campaign against infrastructure in territory controlled by Russia, targeting electrical and gas nodes across a swath of eastern and southern front-line regions and into Russia’s own border areas.
Operational reporting over the past week points to a series of mid‑range Ukrainian drone strikes on power infrastructure. At least two 220‑kilovolt electrical substations and five 110‑kilovolt substations were hit, along with 17 other substations where the capacity was not specified. Ten separate gas distribution stations were also targeted.
The strikes were spread across Russian‑controlled parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv oblasts, as well as Crimea and Russian border regions. That pattern shows Kyiv probing not just front‑line logistics, but the supporting energy systems that feed occupied territories and adjacent areas inside Russia.
Ukrainian officials have framed attacks on fuel and energy infrastructure as a way to strain Russia’s war effort. President Volodymyr Zelensky recently said Ukraine had destroyed 45% of Russia’s refinery facilities and argued that hitting refineries reduces Moscow’s access to diesel. The specific refinery figure cannot be independently verified from the available material, but the latest strikes on substations and gas nodes indicate that Kyiv’s target set extends beyond oil processing.
For civilians living near these facilities, successful strikes can mean local blackouts, voltage problems and interruptions to gas supplies used for heating, cooking and industry. Staff at substations and gas distribution sites now work under the risk that a normal shift can be interrupted by an explosion close to high‑voltage equipment or key valves.
On the Russian side of the line, damage to 220 kV and 110 kV substations matters because these are key points where electricity is stepped down from long‑distance transmission lines to feed regional grids and large industrial users. Disabling them can force power to be rerouted, trigger localized outages and occupy repair crews that might otherwise be reinforcing other parts of the network.
Strategically, Ukraine is trying to impose some of the same pressures on Russia that it has endured itself. Russia has repeatedly targeted Ukraine’s grid and energy sector with missiles and drones over the past two winters. Ukraine’s growing drone fleet now allows it to strike back at a lower cost per attack than large missile barrages.
Energy systems are resilient up to a point, but repeated localized disruption has its own effect: it diverts money, materials and political attention into repairs and hardening measures instead of offensive operations.
What will shape the impact of this campaign is Russia’s ability to repair and protect substations and gas infrastructure, and Ukraine’s capacity to keep sending drones to these deeper targets. Signs to watch include Russian reporting on outages, visible reinforcement of critical sites with air defences or barriers, and any change in Zelensky’s public claims about the damage done to Russia’s fuel and power network.
Sources
- OSINT