There are fears that energy shortages across Ukraine could leave people without energy for up to 14 hours a day as the country prepares itself for winter.
Throughout the war, Russia has consistently targeted the country’s energy infrastructure in an attempt to slow factory production of vital equipment as well as to damage the morale of the population.
But the country enters this winter on the back of a concerted Russian attack on the county’s power, with Moscow firing over 200 drones and missiles at energy infrastructure in late August alone.
Viktoriya Gryb, an independent Ukrainian lawmaker who heads the parliament’s energy security subcommittee, said: “The situation is really critical, and I hope that international partners will provide us with assistance as soon as possible. I am very worried.”
One US official told Politico that they are anticipating a “very harsh winter” that will see many Ukrainians die in their homes because of attacks on the country’s energy.
Russia’s latest assault on Ukrainian energy has cut Ukraine’s electrical generation capacity by more than 9 gigawatts, the equivalent of eight power plants and over 800 heat supply facilities, according to Gennadii Riabtsev, chief researcher at Ukraine’s National Institute for Strategic Studies and an energy market expert.
Riabstev believes that the country will have to limit energy supplies to eight to fourteen hours a day throughout the winter.
He said: “Russian strikes will obviously continue, and nothing can guarantee the protection of the newly restored facilities from attacks due to a lack of multilevel air and missile defence systems.”
The situation is perilous as Ukraine enters a winter which could see temperatures as low as minus 10 degrees.
According to analysts, Ukraine’s nuclear power infrastructure is especially valuable, contributing around 60% of the country’s energy output. Therefore, any attacks on it would be particularly damaging to the country as a whole.
Last month, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that Russia is likely to target the country’s nuclear power infrastructure, a move he warned the United Nations could lead to a “nuclear disaster.”
The consequences of such an attack are heightened by Ukraine’s depletion of other fuel reserves. Gas supplies are not expected to be sufficient, and the problem has been exasperated further by Western countries’ reluctance to store gas in the country in the face of repeated Russian strikes.
Ukraine is attempting to plug the gap and has even installed solar panels in hospitals to generate alternative energy. It has also successfully sourced funding from donors to generate money to repair damaged infrastructure, with a plan to raise €1 billion in funding from Western governments and private donors by the end of the year, which is on course to be met.
But Ukraine’s winter is set to be tough, and its ability to combat the effects of scarce energy will be key to its continued efforts to resist the invasion of Russian troops.
