Large Ukranian City Plunged into Darkness

After a few relatively uneventful months, things are heating up in Ukraine again. There's been a counteroffensive against Russian forces in the east of the country. After a period of little progress, the Russian line broke, allowing Ukranian forces to take control of the area around Ukraine's second largest city.

The response by the Russians has been to plunge the city into darkness by disrupting its electricity supply.

This is the first time that Russian forces have directly targeted civilians in this way, so the move must be seen as an escalation. But the purpose of this escalation is unclear. Is it the Russians lashing out in anger and frustration, or are we looking at a sound military manoeuvre?

I suspect it's the latter because the situation in and around the darkened city must be confusing and desperate. Without electricity, water and sewages systems stop functioning. Transportation and telecommunication become difficult as well. This in turn, provides an opportunity for Russian forces to encircle the area and capture the Ukranian forces.

However, if the Russians don't take advantage of the chaos relatively soon, we'll know that the Russians are giving up on their campaign in the area, and simply destroying things as they retreat in order to dish out as much misery as possible on their way back to the Russian border.

Mark Esper with Jens Stoltenberg

By U.S. Secretary of Defense - 200212-D-AP390-6107, CC BY 2.0, Link