The New York Times obtains a purported Russian plan to cripple Ukraine’s power grid, including by cutting electricity and heat supplies to three major cities by 90%
Russia plans to disable Ukraine’s entire energy system. Ukrainian authorities have obtained a Russian Defense Ministry document outlining the plan, The New York Times reported. Ukrainian Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal showed it to two European politicians in late September, sources told the newspaper. The Times also obtained a copy of the Russian-language document but said its authenticity could not be verified.
The plan calls for a large-scale campaign using various types of missiles, guided aerial bombs, and drones, including jet-powered models. According to the document, Russia plans to carry out the campaign in three stages:
- First stage: Strikes on substations along Ukraine’s western border to prevent the country from importing electricity from Europe.
- Second stage: Strikes on hydroelectric power plants.
- Third stage: Strikes on substations that supply electricity to the three nuclear power plants still under Ukrainian control. Russian troops occupy Ukraine’s fourth nuclear power plant, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.
The campaign’s ultimate goal is to cut off electricity, heat, and water to major Ukrainian cities to provoke a humanitarian crisis.
The plan identifies Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Odesa as the main targets. It calls for reducing electricity and heat supplies to these cities by 90% and disabling a substantial portion of their sewage systems.
The document indicates that Russia plans to eliminate nearly 15 gigawatts of generating capacity — almost as much as Ukraine had at the end of summer 2026, the Times reported.
In August, Shmyhal told Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, that the country would have 21 gigawatts of generating capacity by the end of the year. That would be enough to meet peak demand, which reached 18 gigawatts last winter. But Russia continues to strike Ukraine’s energy facilities, which could undo the country’s efforts to increase capacity ahead of winter, experts told the Times.
The war in photographs
On October 1, Russian forces deliberately struck a bridge across the Dnipro River in Kyiv for the first time since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russian drones attacked the bridge three times that day. On the morning of October 2, the Southern Bridge was closed to traffic, and traffic was restricted on the Paton Bridge and the Metro Bridge. Kyiv saw massive traffic jams.
Aftermath of drone strikes on the Southern Bridge. October 2, 2026
State Emergency Service of Ukraine / Reuters / Scanpix / LETA
Traffic jam near the Southern Bridge. October 2, 2026
Gleb Garanich / Reuters / Scanpix / LETA
Kyiv. October 2, 2026
Tetiana Dzhafarova / AFP / Scanpix / LETA
Kyiv. October 2, 2026
Tetiana Dzhafarova / AFP / Scanpix / LETA
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