The Lawfare Podcast Lawfare Daily: All Things Ukrainian Energy with Anastasiia Lapatina
Nov 20, 2025
Anastasiia Lapatina, a Lawfare Kyiv fellow and expert on Ukraine's energy sector, shares her insights on the ongoing Russian attacks on Ukrainian power infrastructure and a significant corruption scandal involving alleged kickbacks in the energy sector. She discusses the impact of energy insecurity in daily life, Ukraine’s strategic counterattacks, and the implications for President Zelensky amidst public outrage. Lapatina also analyzes the political fallout from these issues, highlighting the complexities of anti-corruption efforts in wartime.
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Recording Amid Kyiv Power Outage
- Anastasiia Lapatina recorded the episode during a Kyiv power outage using a large portable battery and nearby hotel Wi‑Fi.
- She described cold apartment conditions and reliance on electric heaters while centralized heating remains insufficient.
Russia's Seasonal Strategy Intensified
- Russia systematically targets Ukraine's energy infrastructure each cold season to weaken morale and pressure for a settlement.
- This year Russia uses better drones and methodical strikes aimed to overload eastern grids and strain western generation capacity.
Ukraine's Offensive Energy Campaign
- Ukraine has conducted sustained deep strikes on Russian refining and fuel infrastructure using domestically produced long‑range drones and missiles.
- Repeated attacks force costly repairs and can reduce refining capacity even if they do not permanently destroy facilities.