The last massive attack of Russia against the energy system of Ukraine during the Christmas has left hundreds of thousands of residents in Kharkiv and more Ukrainian cities without reliable access to electricity and heating in the middle of winter, which is being responded to with repairs emergency.
“The Ukrainian power system continues to recover after thirteen massive Russian attacks since the beginning of this yearand there is still a significant capacity deficit,” Ukrenergo, the country’s power grid operator, reported Thursday.
To balance the consumption and supply of electricity, scheduled power outages across much of the country as energy workers “are doing everything they can” to restore or replace equipment damaged by the latest russian attacks.
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Power outages in Ukraine
Restoration of damaged electrical installations will take some time, Ukrainian energy experts say.
Although most of the almost 80 missiles and 106 Russian drones were knocked down, some facilities were significantly damaged, especially because Russia It attacked some regions that are less protected by air defenses, amidst their shortage.
Thermal power plants, which produce electricity and heat, which is then distributed to homes in residential districts of large Ukrainian cities, became the main targets of the russian christmas attack.
Due to constant shelling, residents of Kherson are also experiencing problems with access to heating, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksy Kuleba reported on Thursday.
“Specialists are working to restore access as soon as possible, despite the risks. 44 high-rise buildings are currently without heating,” he revealed.
The electrical system in recovery
The severity of the power outages eased on Thursday after most Ukrainians were expected to spend up to half a day without power on Wednesday. There will not be a complete blackout because Ukrainian energy experts know what to do and how to protect the energy system, argued Oleksandr Jarchenko.
However, los electricity outages They will last at least five or six days or even longer, depending on the weather in the coming weeks, the expert warned. So far, winter has been relatively mild in Ukrainewith temperatures rarely falling below freezing in much of the country.
Risks from Russian attacks
The situation will likely be worse in the part of Ukraine east of the Dnipro River, where most of the facilities damaged in the latest attack are located, warned Andri Prokip, an energy expert at the think tank Institute of the Future of Ukraine.
All nuclear power plants under Ukrainian control are concentrated in the west of the country, while due to the attacks there is not enough capacity to transfer the necessary amount of electricity from there to the east, Prokip writes.
Experts also warn that new Russian attacks could worsen the situation.
Deliberate Russian attacks on key substations risk damaging nuclear reactors by requiring emergency procedures that go beyond what the reactors were designed for, he warns.
This risks leaving millions of Ukrainians without electricity in the middle of winter and in danger of a radioactive accidenthe stressed, calling for more international pressure against Russia and its nuclear industry.
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