Cold War: Moscow targets Europe’s communal heating

A combined heat and power (CHP) plant serving nearly half a million Poles was targeted in a cyberattack in December. The goal was to freeze people in their homes on one of the coldest weeks of the year.

Polish intelligence traced the plot back to at least March 2025 and identified nine months of reconnaissance, stolen credentials, and malware designed to destroy data in the plant’s computer systems. They linked the operation to Russia’s intelligence services, and the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued a formal alert.

The attack demonstrated a widening of Russia’s strategy to target the infrastructure that keeps cities warm, which has seen near-daily missile strikes on energy facilities across Ukraine. The International Energy Agency reported that by the end of 2024 at least 18 Ukrainian CHP plants, more than 800 boiler houses, and 354km (220 miles) of heating pipes had been attacked.

Read more at Center for European Policy Analysis