Ukraine’s energy minister has warned that Russian attacks have crippled the country’s electricity grid, leaving residents without heating or power in freezing winter temperatures.
Denys Shmyhal, who took office earlier this week, told parliament on Friday that there was “not a single power plant left in Ukraine that the enemy has not attacked”.
Shmyhal said the most challenging situation is in the capital, Kyiv, as well as the regions of Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv and Odesa.
Towns near the front line in eastern Ukraine are also filled with thousands of homes that have been without electricity and heating for days in subzero conditions.
“In some cities and regions, winter preparations have failed. Over the past two days in office, I’ve seen that many things are clearly stalling,” said Shmyhal, whose ministry estimates that Ukraine has fuel reserves to last just 20 days.
Since launching a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has each winter concentrated fire on the country’s energy infrastructure in a bid to weaken Kyiv’s defences and its ability to resist Moscow’s far-reaching demands for territory and other concessions.
Earlier this week, a senior United Nations official warned that Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure so far this winter have “deprived millions of Ukrainians of electricity, heating and water for prolonged periods”.
“The impact of these attacks is felt hardest by the most vulnerable: the elderly, children, and persons with limited mobility,” UN Undersecretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo said on Monday.
