Yves right here. We have been amongst these to level out, comparatively early, that Russia would dictate phrases when the Ukraine warfare ended. However John Helmer was first to acknowledge that de-electrification was the leverage level on this marketing campaign. Turning out the lights, as a lot as they may have to be, is seeking to be the mechanism to pressure Ukraine’s capitulation.
Helmer expands on his theme of how the electrical warfare has grow to be central, even when the battlefield battle additionally continues.
By John Helmer, the longest repeatedly serving overseas correspondent in Russia, and the one western journalist to direct his personal bureau unbiased of single nationwide or industrial ties. Helmer has additionally been a professor of political science, and an advisor to authorities heads in Greece, america, and Asia. He’s the primary and solely member of a US presidential administration (Jimmy Carter) to determine himself in Russia. Initially printed at Dances with Bears
It was a comparatively brilliant day, November 21, 1920, when Vladimir Lenin, having gained the civil warfare and pushed off the American, British, French, Canadian, and Australian invasion forces, introduced: “Communism is Soviet energy plus the electrification of the entire nation, since trade can’t be developed with out electrification.”
Come November 2024 will probably be a century and 4 years to rely what Lenin meant, and the way Russia is proving itself in opposition to every thing which the navy industries, particular forces, weapons, intelligence so-called, operations, and plans of the previous invasion coalition, plus Germany, can throw at it. So on November 21, 2024, will probably be time to revise Lenin’s maxim to learn: Russia is navy energy plus the de-electrification of the international locations which assault it.
That is electrical warfare.
To make the warfare purpose unambiguously clear, President Vladimir Putin ordered his ambassador to the United Nations (UN), Vasily Nebenzya (lead picture, left), to learn out a paper at his desk within the UN Safety Council chamber on April 11: “very quickly, the one subject for worldwide conferences in Ukraine would be the unconditional give up of the Kiev regime.”
Word what the phrases “unconditional give up of the Kiev regime” imply: whole navy defeat of the Ukrainian, American, British, French, Polish, and different forces on the Ukrainian territory and within the air surrounding; give up of the municipal administrations of the east-bank cities, together with Kharkov, Dniepropetrovsk, and Odessa; disarmament and demilitarization of the territory between Kiev and the Polish border; exit of each member of the regime, beginning with Vladimir Zelensky.
That is an ultimatum with out options for both Moscow or Kiev. In electrical warfare, are there any options?
Nebenzya was making his announcement on the night of Thursday, April 11, Kiev time. Within the time it took for his textual content to be drafted, edited by the International Ministry, approved on the Kremlin, and Nebenzya given the go-ahead, it had been just a few hours after the lights of Kiev went out when the Tripolskaya energy station was destroyed by a brand new Russian missile, the X-69 (lead picture, proper).
THE GEOGRAPHY OF TARGETING IN THE ELECTRIC WAR TO DATE
Click on to enlarge key and determine areas: https://t.me/rezervsvo/53515The strike in opposition to the Tripolskaya plant was carried out by X-69 missiles fired by Su-34 or Su-35 plane flying at a spread of as much as 400 kilometres from the targets. The plane have been in Russian airspace, out of vary of Ukrainian Patriot and different air defence batteries; the missiles, nevertheless, penetrated the air defence display round Kiev and couldn’t be intercepted. Supply: https://t.me/s/Slavyangrad
Supply: https://www.ft.com/ Word the only, tiny yellow blip southwest of Donetsk which the Anglo-American mapmaker calls “Ukrainian claimed counteroffensive”.
As of April 10, 2024: Supply: https://t.me/sputniklive/78749
Boris Rozhin, whose Colonel Cassad navy weblog broadly represents Basic Employees pondering, studies the operational breakthrough demonstrated on April 11, and explains what the maps of present concentrating on foreshadow for the following spherical of strikes, and the rounds after that. Rozhin republishes his evaluation from RT, the state media organ.
“By the night of April 11, Ukrainian sources reported that air-launched X-69 missiles may very well be used to hit the Tripolskaya TPP [Thermal Power Plant]. Up to now, there is no such thing as a affirmation of this info, however it’s value finding out these missiles in additional element. Their vary is sort of 20 instances lower than that of the X-101 missiles [equivalent to about 250-500 kilometres], the carriers of that are strategic plane of the Aerospace Forces [Tu-95]. Of their [X-69] perform, they’re nearer to the overseas [Anglo-French] Storm Shadow/SCALP missiles, that are being tried for strikes on the Crimean Bridge. The [X-69’s] lengthy vary of the 300 km may very well be sufficient if the launches of missiles have been carried out from the territory of the Bryansk area. If using missiles is confirmed sooner or later, it’s going to imply that no power facility of the Ukraine on the Dnieper River can work safely, and the strike capabilities of the Aerospace Forces have multiplied.” https://t.me/rt_russian/197065
“A number of components have led to the weakening of the air defence in Ukraine, amongst which within the first place is the disproportionately excessive consumption of pricey anti-[aircraft] missiles SAMP-T, and Patriot, in addition to each day losses of the overseas air defence techniques close to the entrance line. They’ve been deployed there to forestall Russian plane, or at the least cut back their exercise, however as a consequence, the overseas air defence techniques themselves have grow to be the goal. And so the circle is closed — medium-range air defence techniques can’t be positioned on power amenities now because of the danger of destruction; within the occasion they’re destroyed, the West is in no hurry to interchange the launchers and radars. In consequence, the important thing power amenities stay unprotected; it turns into simpler to hit them; and for mixed strikes it’s not mandatory to make use of [Russian] strategic aviation, because it was in the beginning of the SVO or all through the previous 12 months. These circumstances permit the Russian Protection Ministry to scale back the consumption of long-range X-101 missiles, and open up for the Basic Employees the chance to increase the operational horizon in placing, and take into account the next international steps, for which long-range technique of destruction will probably be required.”
“What targets could be affected after Tripolskaya? If you happen to evaluate the vary of the X-69 missiles with the placement of power amenities on the Dnieper, you’ll find that because of the scarcity of air defences, the presence of low cost cruise missiles, and the big variety of combatants from the Russian facet, you possibly can arrange an enormous strike on any goal within the central a part of Ukraine. It’s noteworthy {that a} vital a part of the TPP [thermal power plant], CHP [combined heat and power plant], and HPPs [hydroelectric power plant] on the Dnieper have already been attacked as soon as or a number of instances. However with using the X-69, the price of which is a number of instances lower than X-101/X-555, the destruction of Ukraine’s power infrastructure can attain a basically new stage.”
“On the identical time, the cumulative impact of the blows continues to shake the Ukrainian power community: the sudden lack of 1.8 GW of era in opposition to the background of the destruction of the Tripolskaya thermal energy plant and the overall scarcity of electrical energy is a severe and unsolved downside for the foreseeable future. There usually are not so many partially functioning and as but not totally destroyed targets; three of them – Zmievskaya, Pridneprovskaya, and Kryvorizhska [Krivoy Rog] are actually inside attain of the X-69 missiles. For the ultimate destruction of comparable amenities within the west of Ukraine (Burshtyn and Dobrotrytskaya TPP) a mixed missile strike with using long-range X-101 could be carried out.”
For a information to the measurement items of electrical energy era and consumption, click on to learn.
MAP OF LOCATIONS OF UKRAINE POWER GENERATING PLANTS BY TYPE
Supply: https://en.wikipedia.org
“Given the truth that the Thermal Energy Crops (TPP), in addition to the hydropower crops [HPP], within the Ukraine play an necessary function within the system and have performed the function of the power balancer, their destruction will result in the truth that there will probably be no secure electrical energy within the electrical energy system of the jap and central a part of the Ukraine. And with out that it’s not possible not just for trade to perform, but in addition any regular life, to not point out severe navy capabilities.”
The Ukraine has printed electrical energy capability ranges earlier than the warfare reaching their peak on January 25, 2022 — in keeping with Ukrenergo figures, reported by the Worldwide Vitality Company (IEA) — of 21.13GW. Ukrainian demand on that day was 21.91GW.
Ukrenergo figures have been final printed for October 27, 2022, when the primary part of the electrical warfare was underneath method. Technology amounted to 10.71GW; demand to 10.77GW. The estimated capability which survived on the finish of final month, after the electrical warfare had resumed, was estimated in Colonel Cassad reporting on March 30 at 7.8GW.
Imports of electrical energy from the encircling EU states have been peaking final month, on March 26, at 18,649 MW per hour, or about 779.2MW of EU producing capability; that’s simply over 10% of home era. The determine is appreciable for a single day and costly, whether or not Kiev or the Europeans pay. For the way lengthy the Ukraine and its EU neighbours can conform to sustain the speed or increase it, is unknown. The road capability from the EU networks was at 1.7GW by late final 12 months. On paper, that appears like double final month’s peak. Russian assaults on the transmission grid inside Ukraine are prone to cut back that.
At finest, on paper, the present producing capability of photo voltaic power crops is about 5GW; wind energy, 1.3GW. In reality, in keeping with the final report of the Worldwide Vitality Company (IEA) of electrical energy era by supply, dated February 25, 2022, the photo voltaic crops have been producing simply 0.10GW, wind crops, 0.04GW. The IEA knowledge got here from Ukrenergo, the Kiev state utility. Many of the Ukraine’s renewable power sources are within the southeast of nation, behind or simply ahead of the entrance.
CHART OF UKRAINE ELECTRICITY GENERATION BY SOURCE TO FEBRUARY 25, 2022
Click on to enlarge view. Within the IEA’s final public report on February 25, 2022, Ukrainian nuclear crops have been producing 8.42GW, coal 3.82GW, hydro 1.28GW, pure gasoline 0.47GW, photo voltaic 0.10GW, and wind 0.04, totaling 14.13GW. For Rozhin’s evaluation of how a lot of this capability remained earlier than final week’s spherical of strikes, learn this, Rozhin’s estimate of the surviving stability on April 1 was 7.8GW. Based mostly in Paris, the IEA is a propaganda company for the Kiev regime; Russia is excluded from membership or affiliation. “The IEA is partnering with Ukraine because it bolsters its power safety”, the worldwide company says on its web site in the mean time. “The Worldwide Vitality Company (IEA), which has deepened its relationship with Ukraine since Russia’s invasion, is stepping as much as present assist…The IEA and lots of of our member international locations are working intently with Ukraine to assist the nation’s power system recuperate from Russia’s assaults.” The company has been concealing the lack of Ukrainian electrical energy capability since February 2022.
In remarks this month to the Monetary Occasions of Tokyo and London, Ukrainian power officers declare they’ve three options – restore the injury, bringing the system again to regular demand ranges; add different energy sources comparable to imported electrical energy from Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Moldova, Romania, and the Baltic states or native renewables, comparable to photo voltaic and wind era; or defend the electrical energy system with extra Patriot missile techniques.
“Our aim,” in keeping with Maxim Timchenko, chief govt of DTEK — the dominant Ukrainian energy firm which is owned by Rinat Akhmetov, “is to revive as a lot as we are able to by October… Topic to no additional assaults, at the least 50 per cent of broken energy items will probably be reconnected to the grid.” Had it not been for the nice and cozy climate, power imports from the EU, and a rise in renewable power era, the present state of affairs could be a lot worse, Timchenko added.
The Russians “try to chop off giant industrial areas and cities from the facility provide,” a spokesman for Ukrenergo, the state-owned grid system operator, advised the newspaper. “Smaller substations — managed by Ukrenergo — could be shielded from assaults with protecting buildings. However it is rather tough, if not not possible to cowl the big energy crops, which take a number of months and even years to revive.”
In a separate report, the FT claimed after the Tripolskaya assault that the plant had been “protected by air defences.” Whether or not these have been Patriot missiles or one thing else, the newspaper omitted to acknowledge that they’d been defeated.
It then quoted Ilya Yevlash, Ukraine Air Drive’s brand-new spokesman, as saying that “solely the Patriot system was able to taking pictures down Russia’s hypersonic Kinzhal and Zircon missiles. Clearly we’d like extra, which can assist us to guard our crucial infrastructure and cities.” The newspaper didn’t ask — Yevlash didn’t say –why the NATO-Ukrainian crews manning the Patriot batteries have been unable to defend both their missile batteries or themselves from hypersonic Kinzhal strikes or the subsonic X-69s.
Different Russian navy bloggers are reporting new strikes within the west in opposition to thermal energy crops (TPP) at Dobrotvir, Lvov area, and Burshtyn, Ivano-Frankivsk area, in addition to the huge underground gasoline storage in Lvov often known as Bilche-Volitzko-Ugerskoye.
Alexei Slovtsov has summed up the present state of affairs within the navy weblog Slavyangrad: “The enemy’s capacity to manoeuvre [redistribute and balance] the load has virtually disappeared. The bottom load is carried by the nuclear energy crops, and all fluctuations within the schedule can now be lined solely by imports from outdoors. And that’s restricted by the community bandwidth and energy on the opposite facet. The power to regulate frequency within the energy system will probably be vastly decreased. The east of Ukraine is now caught in dependence on a number of strains of 330 kV and beneath. There, actually, the final click on is required for every thing to exit from the Dnieper to Kharkov. If the 750 kV community is killed, the system will break up into three remoted nodes across the nuclear energy crops.” Supply: April 12, 01:21.
MAP OF UKRAINIAN TRANSMISSION LINE TARGETS
This concentrating on map was drawn by navy sources for this publication on April 1. It’s not but a map of latest Russian strikes.
In accordance with a NATO veteran and knowledgeable in making use of electrical engineering to warfare, there is no such thing as a prospect that the regime in Kiev can fill the facility gap being created by the Russian operations. “Renewables [solar, wind] usually are not even remotely near filling the hole. They’re a rip-off, particularly within the Ukrainian case. Taking era out of the equation, if the Russians proceed placing transmission and distribution infrastructure, in addition to manufacturing, transportation and storage amenities, the inevitable conclusion is the collapse of the Ukrainian electrical energy grid. This implies the collapse of Ukrainian society. As we watch the electrical warfare unfold, I get the impression that pushing [Ukrainian] individuals west of the Dnieper is the [Russian] aim of the present part of the electrical warfare – so name this Section 2.”
The supply stated the bordering NATO states lack the capability to extend their electrical energy provides to the Ukraine, even with the addition of newly introduced energy sources within the Baltic states. This European trade publication has reported that in 2023 Ukrainian imports from the European Union (EU) had doubled from 2021 to 935 million kWh.
How far more EU sources can present is unsure. Ukrainian sources advised the Monetary Occasions final week that “within the aftermath of the March strikes, imports from the EU reached a report 18,700MWh, the equal generated by two energy crops. Within the months after Russia’s full-scale invasion of 2022, Ukraine related its grid to neighbouring EU international locations Romania, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland.”
The Worldwide Vitality Company (IEA), which publishes what it calls “real-time knowledge on electrical energy demand and era in Ukraine”, stopped reporting the demand and era knowledge after February 2022. The US propaganda supply, Atlantic Council, is at present claiming that “Ukraine expands EU power exports in recent show of wartime resilience”; In reality, Ukrainian electrical energy exports have stopped, and imports from the EU could already be better than the Atlantic Council estimated in March to be 1700MW (1.7GW).
Final month, the western press was repeating Kiev’s claims. “In its newest replace on power safety in Ukraine, the nation’s Vitality Ministry stated Sunday [March 17] the facility provide system remained ‘balanced’ regardless of technical disruptions and shelling. ‘No scarcity of electrical energy is anticipated’, it stated in a press launch on its web site. ‘For the present day, electrical energy imports are anticipated to succeed in 3,900 MWh, whereas exports are additionally anticipated to succeed in 2,000 MWh’ it added. On March 5, 2024, the ministry, which oversees Ukrenegro, stated Ukraine achieved an electrical energy surplus which was exported to Poland within the quantity of 246 mWh.”
Within the 4 weeks since then the Russian Basic Employees have despatched Kinzhal and X-69 to contradict the claims.
The NATO electrical engineer provides: “I don’t consider the transmission strains between the Ukraine and the EU have the capability for the compensating improve required to fill the hole.”
Oleg Tsarev is an influential Ukrainian political determine and potential Russian candidate to take the presidency in Kiev; he was the goal of Ukrainian assassination final October. He now lives and works in Crimea. Right here is his Telegram piece of April 7, analyzing the brand new part within the electrical warfare: “What has occurred? Why have our operations grow to be extra placing? Partly this is because of the truth that the Russian Aerospace Forces have just about blasted the Ukrainian air protection techniques. Because the summer time of 2022, the losses of such AFU [Armed Forces of the Ukraine] techniques have sharply decreased because of the integration of air defence with Western intelligence techniques. Our individuals regarded intently on the western air defence techniques, analyzed their work, and regarded for vulnerabilities. And so it went on for a very long time: for the entire of 2023, in keeping with the official studies of our Ministry of Protection, solely 46 anti-aircraft missile techniques (SAMs) of Ukraine have been hit. And in three months of this 12 months, 52 have already been counted.”
“Our navy has studied how Western techniques work, find out how to bypass or hit them. Now we have improved the standard of the intelligence. The defeats of the SAM on the fight entrance and within the rear are vivid examples of this. Plus a mixture of Geranium drone strikes and rocket launches is used. That is confirmed by the statistics of the Basic Employees of the Armed Forces of Ukraine of their evaluation of mixed air strikes and UAVs: if in the beginning of 2023, our [Russian] strikes averaged about 22 per day, then within the center and finish of the 12 months, there have been over 50; in February 2024 this quantity jumped abruptly to 84 per day, and in March the speed continued. Our missiles and drones have actually elevated. There are fewer enemy air defences.”
“A very powerful factor is, apparently, that after the assaults on our refineries and on Belgorod, choices have been made to make use of our capabilities to the fullest. Final 12 months, they [Russia] tried to not hit manufacturing amenities, and even blows to giant transformers in community nodes have been inflicted reluctantly. Right this moment, our weapons are hitting the engine rooms of energy crops and any related navy targets. Vital political choices have been made, and all these strikes are simply the tip of the iceberg.”
NOTE: The affect of the Tripolskaya, Dobrotvir, and Burshtyn strikes has not but materialized in a surge of Ukrainians heading out of the blackout and into Poland. These are the newest outward and inward figures issued by the Polish Border Guard:
UKRAINIAN POPULATION MOVEMENT ACROSS THE POLISH BORDER THIS MONTH
As of compilation of those knowledge on April 14, the Polish Border Guard (Straż Graniczna) was lagging in its public studies by three days; within the first 12 months of the warfare it printed these knowledge each day. Supply: https://twitter.com/straz_graniczna?lang=en
