Russia-Ukraine War: Putin’s Army Shifts Tactics, Targets Ukraine’s Energy System

Russia-Ukraine War: It will be three years on February 26 since Russia invaded Ukraine, and it recently ramped up its attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure. It uses cluster munitions for such attacks in order to cause maximum destruction.

A cluster munition is an explosive weapon that drops or throws smaller submunitions, either through air dropping or on land. Most commonly, it is a certain type of bomb known as a cluster bomb, which shoots out explosive bomblets meant to kill personnel and destroy vehicles. However, different submunitions are designed to destroy either runways or electric power transmission lines.

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Such munitions have been used by Russia extensively in Ukraine.

This was revealed by Herman Halushchenko, Ukraine's Minister of Energy, during a national telethon organized on January 3, 2025, while stating that 2024 was extremely difficult for the energy network of Ukraine because Russian attacks had severely destroyed the infrastructure of Ukraine.

Russian forces executed 13 large-scale offensives on energy facilities between March and December 2024. A change in the strategic approach and weaponry used against Russian forces includes the use of Kh-101 missiles, according to Herman Halushchenko. Kh-101 missiles induce shredding sub munition to damage critical infrastructure complexities related to repairs.

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Besides Kh-101 missiles, the other cluster munitions in Russia's arsenal include RBK-500 air-dropped bombs with PTAB-1M sub munitions, 220mm "Uragan" and 300mm "Smerch" rockets carrying 9N210 and 9N235 sub munitions respectively, and "Iskander-M" ballistic missiles with 9N730 submunitions.

Therefore, these cluster munitions scatter explosives over large areas and thus are highly effective against dispersed and fortified targets.

Russia employed Tochka-U or SS-21 Scarab-B in Ukraine. It is a short-range ballistic missile from a mobile platform having a deployment range of up to 120 km. The precision guidance on this missile provides it with the capability to set various warheads, including 9N123K cluster munition which can disperse explosives to wide areas. That it operates under various environmental conditions makes it an integral tool in modern military operations.

Although the winter has got to its peak, the effect of the cold and energy demand is at its maximum, making it a time of great pressure for Ukriane because of the widespread attacks. Such damage brought on by the destruction of such infrastructure renders power completely unavailable and makes daily life a mess through disruption of services, such as those of hospitals and schools.

The reason Russia has targeted the energy systems in Ukraine was to weaken resistance and dishearten the public and disturb military logistics.

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