Vladimir Putin is reportedly planning to freeze Ukrainians into submission this winter with a massive wave of strikes against several targets, including the country's nuclear power infrastructure.
Officials in Kyiv are warning this could be the hardest winter of the war so far, with Russia using its increasingly powerful weapons to devastate Ukraine's power grid ahead of the freezing months to come.
Wednesday attack marks start of winter campaign
Ukrainian authorities pointed to an attack on Wednesday as the start of Russia's winter campaign. A large thermal power plant and other energy facilities were struck in the capital Kyiv, leaving several neighbourhoods without power or water.
But this is just the beginning, Ukrainian authorities have said, warning Russia plans a winter barrage using ballistic missiles and jet-powered drones that Ukrainian forces often struggle to intercept.
Intercepted war plan revealed in Paris
The warnings come after Ukrainian officials claimed to have intercepted Russian war plans. Ukrainian energy minister Denys Shmyhal reportedly showed an intercepted Russian war plan to European partners in Paris two weeks ago which included schemes to strike nuclear power plants.
The plan, seen by the New York Times, is said to outline plans to collapse Ukraine's power grid through sustained attacks. A campaign of strikes using up to 1,000 missiles, drones and bombs would target a wide range of facilities.
Electrical substations, hydroelectric and thermal power plants, and boiler houses would all be hit in an attempt to break morale and cripple the war effort.
Risk of meltdown at nuclear sites
Most worryingly of all, Russia would fire missiles with the aim of shutting down Ukraine's three operating nuclear power stations, hitting electrical switchyards which connect the plants to the grid.
The switchyards are located less than a mile away from the reactors, meaning there is a serious risk of a disastrous meltdown in the event of a strike missing its target even slightly.
Moscow also has plans to fire dozens of ballistic missiles and glide bombs at Ukraine's water system, Mr Shmyhal reportedly told European partners in Paris. This would represent the first such large-scale attack by Russia on Ukraine's water network.
Zaporizhzhia plant at centre of fighting
The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant - Europe's largest - has been at the centre of heavy fighting throughout the war. The nuclear plant passed into Russian hands in March 2022 after repeated strikes on or near the facility.
Since then strikes on the area have also been carried out by Ukrainian Armed Forces, with a driver killed by a drone strike at the site in April. In May, the International Atomic Energy Agency was informed that a lab at the plant had been hit.
