Ukraine Strikes Donbas Power Plants: Ukraine’s New Targets

November 18, 2025November 18, 2025

Many people asked themselves: why do Kharkiv, Dnipro, and Zaporizhzhia constantly remain under fire, their energy infrastructure regularly knocked out, while simultaneously the enemy on occupied Donbas territory stays comfortable? This question looks even sharper because these are our territories. We have all the data about infrastructure on this territory, which allows converting it into target designation accurate to centimeters. However, for a long time, good birds somehow didn’t look there. Now Ukraine strikes Donbas power plants, finally changing this asymmetry. Moreover, many objects can be reached with a whole set of long-range strike weapons, including MLRS, but this didn’t happen until recently.

The Energy Advantage Enemy Enjoyed

Besides, our specialists undoubtedly have an exhaustive understanding of how energy supply on occupied territories functions. Therefore, all the most vulnerable places are well known — strikes on which can de-energize the entire close rear of the enemy strike grouping. It’s understandable that military forces have autonomous energy supply systems. But they require large amounts of fuel and its regular deliveries, which loads logistics and requires arranging large transshipment points for gasoline and diesel. And we know what that is and how vulnerable it is. Obviously, having access to the classical electricity supply system provides much greater stability to the entire enemy military grouping and weakens the tension of logistics lines.
But as stated above, for a long time this didn’t happen. Why it was exactly like this is hard to say — probably there were some sound considerations for this.

The Strikes Begin

But now it became known that two nights in a row, strikes hit precisely those key targets that provide the backbone of energy infrastructure in occupied Donbas. Before the war, these included several thermal power plants, for example Starobeshivska, Kurakhivska, and Zuivska. These are relatively new and quite universal in terms of fuel power plants that can operate on both local coal and gas. And they provided most of the generation needed by the region. Only now something heavy seriously flew there.
Last night it hit Kurakhivska TPP, and this night — Zuivska TPP. And this immediately led to a beneficial effect. Entire segments of occupied territory plunged into silence and darkness. The distance from Ilovaisk to the target in a straight line is about 15 kilometers. And in good weather from Ilovaisk, you can see the power plant chimney, which has the height of the Eiffel Tower.

What the Strike Logic Indicates

The logic of strikes can indicate two things:
First — that disabling generating capacity in the enemy’s close rear has been added to the bank of priority legitimate targets. Second — that enemy air defense in Donbas no longer has the density it had, for example, a year ago.

The fact that Ukraine strikes Donbas power plants represents a significant shift in strategy. The asymmetry is finally being corrected.