Ukraine’s energy sector is suffering from relentless strikes by the Russian army. The EU is concerned just months before winter arrives. View on euronews
After months of attacks by the Russian army, Ukraine’s energy sector is now reportedly operating at only 50% of its capacity. The hall of the largest thermal power plant in western Ukraine looks like a repair shop. Instead of supervising the operation of the units, employees are collecting all the components that are still usable. Before the war, this plant was one of the largest in the region. Today, it only produces heat for the neighbouring village.
The Russian bombings also put enormous pressure on the entire Ukrainian energy network, as they target not only production facilities, but also, for example, substations and the power grid. Ukraine is therefore unable to smoothly transfer energy from the west to the east. The high-voltage lines are overloaded and the authorities in the various regions have to carry out power cuts. The population is without electricity for several hours every day. Ukraine therefore has to obtain massive amounts of electricity from neighbouring countries. Last month alone, it imported more energy than it did all of last year.
EU, Ukraine’s leading supplier of energy and equipment
The European Union is closely monitoring the situation and is concerned about the fate of Ukrainians as winter approaches. EU Foreign Minister Josep Borell has asked the foreign ministers of each member state to increase their aid to the Ukrainian energy sector.
“Putin wants to plunge Ukraine into darkness and cold, and that is why the next two or three months will be crucial, and we do not have time to wait for winter to come. I have asked the ministers to mobilize now to provide more electricity production capacity to Ukraine, by contributing to the Ukrainian Energy Support Fund, which is also necessary,” he said.
In the winter of 2022-2023, Russia had already targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. The Tripilska thermal power plant, located near Kyiv, was destroyed on April 11 by Russian bombing. It was one of the most important thermal power plants in the country.
Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, justified these attacks as retaliation for the Ukrainian long-range strikes on Russian oil refineries.
This article is originally published on msn.com
