Russia seeks to cause complete power outage in Ukraine – Budanov

Kyrylo Budanov, the chief of Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR), stated this in an interview with Il Foglio, Ukrinform reports.

"It's no secret that the Russians want to cause a complete power outage in Ukraine. …In their view, these attacks affect the most socially vulnerable segments of the Ukrainian population," Budanov said.

He also stated that the enemy primarily counts on the vulnerability of low-income citizens, since people with medium and high incomes usually have equipment that allows them to endure blackouts, such as inverters and batteries.

"The Russian leadership wants to achieve a total power outage because it believes this will generate social discontent in Ukraine," he noted.

Budanov emphasized that Putin aims to exert social pressure on the Ukrainian authorities and deprive Kyiv of support from its allies.

As Ukrinform reported, on the night of October 21-22, Russian forces struck energy infrastructure facilities in ten regions of Ukraine.