Russian President Vladimir Putin has made no effort to hide his plot to plunge Ukraine into darkness.
Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, there has been more than 1,000 attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure.
And over the past year, those strikes have intensified.
Hundreds of drones and missiles have been launched in mass attacks on energy targets. At times, 8 million households were left without power.
By September 2024, two-thirds of the country's once robust energy grid had reportedly been wiped out.
And there were fears it would be brought down completely as Ukrainians faced sub-zero winter temperatures.
But while negotiations for a permanent ceasefire take place, Mr Putin has agreed to pause attacks on energy infrastructure.
Experts say the deal not only provides Ukraine with some reprieve, it also benefits Moscow and Europe.
This is why Russia's power play has been so important.
A country left in the dark
Operating with only one-third of energy capacity, Ukrainian cities and towns are frequently left in the dark.
People carry torches to get around, and the hum of private generators can be heard throughout the streets.
Household electricity outages in 2024 totalled nearly 2,000 hours, according to data published on Energy Map, Ukraine's energy sector database.
Some lasted for several days.
In November, power was down 25 per cent of the time in some urban areas, according to the country's energy grid operator.
In December that rose to nearly 40 per cent.
"It is really a lot," said Theresa Sabonis-Helf, a professor of science, technology and international affairs at Georgetown University.
And because Soviet-era systems integrate water, heat and power, outages can make cities inhospitable, she added.
Mr Putin agreed to suspend attacks on Ukrainian power infrastructure after a call with US President Donald Trump.
But Russia has indicated it will only agree to a full ceasefire if Ukraine's allies, including the US, stop providing arms and sharing intelligence with Kyiv.
Peter Tesch, Australia's former ambassador to Russia, said the pause would give Ukraine some relief, but it was unlikely to have much impact on the conflict overall.
"The cessation of strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure obviously is very important for Ukraine, but this is not the end, it is one element," he told ABC News Breakfast.
"I am sceptical whether this marks a serious sea change in Moscow's approach to the war."
Ukraine's pre-war power
Prior to Russia's 2022 invasion, Ukraine had surplus power.
It was producing 44.1 gigawatts of available electricity through its nuclear, thermal, and hydro-electric power plants and renewable sources, according to a UN report, citing data from the National Bank of Ukraine.
And in the early months of the war, it also became a net exporter of electricity to Europe.
The timing of how this unfolded was "really extraordinary", Professor Sabonis-Helf said.
Ukraine had one final step to carry out before being accepted onto the European power grid in 2022.
It had to pass the so-called "standalone test".
"Ukraine only had one more requirement left before it could join this massive European grid, which is the largest multi-state grid in the world," Professor Sabonis-Helf said.
For one week, Ukraine needed to disconnect from all other grids to demonstrate it was capable of operating reliably only on its national system.
It was a test that other Baltic states had tried repeatedly and failed.
The test was planned on February 24, 2022, the same day Russia invaded.
But as Russian tanks rolled in, Ukraine went ahead as planned.
"During the first week of the war, not only did they keep the state from falling, they operated their grid in a perfectly stable mode," Professor Sabonis-Helf said.
Ukraine was accepted permanently into the European electricity grid on March 16, 2022.
Russia takes aim at power plants
Ukraine became a reliable power supplier to Europe in what analysts have called a "historic move".
"This was extraordinary, but it also then made the Russians interested in making this no longer so," Professor Sabonis-Helf said.
Prior to the invasion, Ukraine was also operating four nuclear power complexes, one of them is Zaporizhzhia, which is the largest nuclear plant in Europe.
The substations around Zaporizhzhia came under attack early in the conflict, forcing its shutdown.
It was then occupied by Russian troops and remains in their control today.
Nuclear power generated half of the Ukraine's pre-war electricity.
Coal-fired plants made up 23 per cent and gas plants 27 per cent.
During 2022 and 2033, about half of Ukraine's power generation capacity was either occupied by Russian forces, destroyed or damaged, according to the International Energy Agency.
Now after repeated bombings of thermal and hydropower plants, the country now relies on 70 per cent nuclear power.
Despite electricity imports from Western neighbours, Ukraine continued to experience acute power deficits, the International Energy Agency said.
For Russia to collapse the remaining three plants, it did not need to attack them directly, Professor Sabonis-Helf said.
Nuclear plants need to be connected continuously to electricity, so Russia just needs to attack their substations — like it did with Zaporizhzhia — to interrupt the flow of power.
Professor Sabonis-Helf said protecting the grid's key substations was crucial for the survival of the Ukrainian state.
"If you truly crash a grid in a highly urbanised environment, particularly in a very cold season, it rapidly becomes uninhabitable," she said.
Mr Trump spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy soon after negotiating the partial ceasefire deal with Russia.
He suggested to Mr Zelenskyy that the US take control of Ukrainian power plants to ensure their security, saying the US would be "very helpful in running those plants with its electricity and utility expertise".
Mr Trump added that "American ownership of those plants could be the best protection for that infrastructure".
Nuclear drama not in Russia's interest
If Russia were to take out more of Ukraine's nuclear power, it could lead to the displacement of millions of Ukrainians and citizens in neighbouring Moldova.
Professor Sabonis-Helf said it would cause refugee "chaos" across Europe.
But any nuclear-related crisis would also not play out well for Russia.
Russia controls about 40 per cent of the world market in nuclear fuel, and is actively involved in building nuclear power plants in several countries.
"According to lots of major countries, we're about to be entering a new age and next generation of nuclear energy," Professor Sabonis-Helf said.
"So completely discrediting nuclear power would not be an optimal outcome."
Russia said Mr Putin ordered his military to pause strikes against Ukrainian energy targets for 30 days.
But Mr Zelenskyy has already accused Russia of breaking the deal, saying 150 drones targeted energy infrastructure overnight.
The ceasefire also requires Ukraine to halt attacks on Russia's energy targets.
Ukraine has been launching long-range drone attacks on Russian oil refineries, pumping stations and ports used for oil and gas exports.
Alexander Vershbow, distinguished fellow at the Atlantic Council's Eurasia Center, and a former US ambassador to NATO and Russia, said the current deal plays to Russia's favour.
"This is the one area where a ceasefire would benefit Russia more than Ukraine, given Kyiv's expanding capacity for long-range drone attacks on Russian energy targets," he said.
"Hopefully, Trump will not accept 'no' for an answer and will continue to insist that Russia agree to a full ceasefire as originally proposed — on the Black Sea, on land, and in the air."
