Robert “Madyar” Brovdi, commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, hinted to Russians that blackouts are a two-way street.
He wrote that blackouts “aren’t scary” and pledged that his “Birds” from the SBS, together with Ukraine’s Defense Forces, will ensure Russian citizens undergo a “swift, if forced, adaptation.”
“But you’ll manage: ‘matches–flashlights–candles’ By the way, use those unscheduled, beloved battery-powered garlands. We won’t inform you about every 750 kV, 500 kV, etc., line our Birds rough up - just go by the principle ‘light/heat-boom-dark/cold,’” he wrote with irony, adding that spotters among local residents are working flawlessly, while the internet still holds.
Brovdi also noted that gasoline in Russia is becoming scarce due to strikes on refineries, and that gas and oil have a habit of burning.
After Russian forces began methodically targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure to plunge people into cold and darkness for the winter, the Ukrainian military began striking back. A day earlier, Ukraine’s Navy reported hitting the Orel thermal power plant and an electrical substation in Novobryansk with Neptune missiles.
On the evening of October 31 and into the night of November 1, Ukrainian drones cut power to the city of Zhukovsky in the Moscow region. Power disruptions were also reported in the Russian city of Tula, the regional capital of Tula Oblast, amid drone attacks.
In addition, Ukraine’s military intelligence service (GUR) destroyed the “Ring” petroleum products pipeline in the Moscow region, despite protective netting and reinforced security.
Ukraine faces a difficult power outlook this winter. Former Energy Minister Ivan Plachkov says that under a pessimistic scenario, blackouts could last up to five days.
