Russia shifts to complex strategy targeting Ukraine's power grid, says Shmyhal

Ukraine's First Deputy Prime Minister and Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal stated that Russia has significantly changed its tactics and adopted a comprehensive strategy to destroy Ukraine's energy system, using drones with turbojet engines en masse. According to Shmyhal, Russia is now using drones in target-search mode with MESH networks and artificial intelligence, which increases strike accuracy. Attacks have primarily targeted key substations, distribution devices, power lines, thermal power plants, hydroelectric plants, and oil and gas infrastructure. The situation with electricity remains especially difficult in Kyiv and Dnipro, where restoration work continues around the clock with additional energy teams formed. Shmyhal also noted that Russia struck a critical substation supporting the Khmelnytskyi nuclear power plant, threatening nuclear safety across Europe, with Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Odesa as main targets.