Drones and missile strikes by the aggressor state of russia have damaged Ukraine's power system to such an extent that the country is in a worse position than last winter. This was reported by Reuters on Friday, October 6, with reference to the assessment of Marcus Lippold, energy team leader at the European Union's enlargement arm.
Continuous strikes by russian drones and missiles have made the Ukrainian power system more vulnerable than a year ago. Repair work and improved air defenses could mitigate the effects of the attacks, Lippold said.
Ukraine has faced a second winter of prolonged power outages amid continued russian missile and drone attacks that have left parts of the power system more vulnerable than a year ago. But the state did not have enough time and funds to complete preparations for winter, which means more long nights without electricity, heat and water for millions of Ukrainians, as well as losses for businesses and the economy as a whole, Reuters writes.
"A lot of effort has gone into just repairing what was destroyed. And have we been able to build additional resilience? Are we in a better position than last winter? I don't think so," said Marcus Lippold, energy team leader at the European Union's enlargement arm.
In June, the United Nations estimated that Ukraine's power generation capacity had roughly halved from its level before a full-scale russian invasion in February 2022.
As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, on September 29, the adviser to the head of the President's Office Mykhailo Podoliak said that Ukraine is mostly ready for new russian attacks on the energy infrastructure, but not 100%.
On September 8, the deputy head of the Defense Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Vadym Skibitskyi, said that the aggressor country of russia may attack the energy infrastructure of Ukraine at the end of September or at the beginning of October.
On September 6, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a meeting of the Staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, which, in particular, discussed the preparation of the Ukrainian power system for winter.
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