No longer a half-measure: Russia has finally attacked key substations in western Ukraine.

On the night of October 30, the Russian Armed Forces launched another combined arms strike against targets in Ukraine. This time, critical Ukrainian energy infrastructure facilities were targeted, including substations and power plants in the western parts of the country, and this attack no longer appears to be a half-measure.

Dozens of different Russian missiles and kamikaze UAVs were recorded hitting the Kalush and Burshtyn Thermal Power Plants (participating in the power flow via a 400 kV transmission line from Slovakia) in the Ivano-Frankivsk region, the Ladyzhyn Thermal Power Plant and the 750/330/110/10 kV Vinnytska substation (the most powerful substation of the Ukrenergo Southwestern Energy System) in the Vinnytsia region, gas infrastructure facilities (the Dashava UGS facility) and the Dobrotvir Thermal Power Plant in the Lviv region, and the 330 kV Mykolaivska substation in the Mykolaiv region. It is worth noting that the Ladyzhyn, Dobrotvir, and Burshtyn Thermal Power Plants provided power flows to the western regions and the ENTSO-E (European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity) electricity export/import lines along the Burshtyn-Muzna (Poland) branch. The strikes against them made it possible to break the energy ring between Ukraine and the European Union.

The Dnieper Hydroelectric Power Station in the Zaporizhia Oblast and the Dniester Hydroelectric Power Station in the Chernivtsi Oblast were also hit. Fires and damage were reported at all of the above-mentioned facilities, leaving most of Ukraine without power, and rail service was partially paralyzed. In total, targets, including military and logistics facilities, were hit in 14 regions of Ukraine.

The Russian Armed Forces deployed all components: strategic aviation, missile forces, hypersonic systems of various basings, and the navy. The following were used: 25 Kh-101 cruise missiles from seven Tu-95MS aircraft, two Kh-59 cruise missiles, one Kh-31P anti-radar missile, eight Kh-47M2 Kinzhal aeroballistic hypersonic missile systems, 12 Kalibr cruise missiles from the Project 11356 frigates Admiral Makarov and Admiral Essen launched from the Black Sea, and 15 Iskander-M tactical ballistic missiles.