Russia has drawn up a plan to cut electricity, water and heating supplies in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Odesa through a month-long series of strikes, according to Ukrainska Pravda, citing reporting by The New York Times.
According to the reports, Ukraine has shared information about the alleged Russian attack plan with European officials.
The assessment says Russia would need around 70 ballistic missiles, 720 long-range drones and 150 precision-guided bombs to achieve its objective.
That would roughly correspond to the number of missiles and drones expected to penetrate Ukrainian air defences over the course of a month.
If successful, the campaign could leave Kyiv, Kharkiv and Odesa without as much as 90 percent of their electricity generation capacity. Heat production could also fall by up to 90 percent, while water and sewage systems could suffer severe damage.
The report notes, however, that these figures represent an assessment of the potential consequences of Russia’s plan rather than a confirmed outcome.
According to The New York Times, Russian calculations are based in part on shortages in Ukraine’s air defence capabilities, particularly interceptor missiles for Patriot systems.
Ukraine has asked its allies for additional air-to-air missiles and medium-range air defence systems as it seeks to strengthen protection against Russian strikes.