“Half of Ukraine’s energy grid is down, but Europe can help”

Power plants, gas pipelines and nuclear power plants have been increasingly targeted by Russian attacks in recent weeks, as winter approaches. While about 34 attacks were reported between February and September, cruise missiles and kamikaze drones across the country have rained almost every day since the beginning of this month. At least two hundred of these were mainly fired at power plants.

Few hit a population as hard as the destruction of energy infrastructure. How will the 35 million Ukrainians still in the country survive this winter?

Svitlana Zalishchuck works at the state-owned gas company Naftogaz, the largest oil and gas company in Ukraine. According to her, the Russians will continue to attack vital infrastructure until all power is lost in Ukraine.

“So far the Russians have been quite successful in these attacks. They have thousands of missiles with which to attack our infrastructure. They are not modern precision missiles, but there are many. And in this case it is more about quantity than quantity. the quality.”

Dmytro Sakharuk is director of DTEK, the largest private electricity company in Ukraine. He sees that Russia consciously chooses the infrastructure. “Russia’s main goal is to stop us from generating energy. The second goal is to hinder our electricity traffic. Before the attacks, almost any amount of electricity could be transported to all parts of Ukraine. Now this is only possible in Ukraine. very limited extent.. “

But the biggest danger is the loss of heat, Sakharuk says. “If temperatures drop below freezing, which happens every winter, the heat pipes will freeze and burst. If we then have power again at a later time, all the pipes across the country will have to be replaced first. This is a real nightmare scenario “.

Sakharuk says more than 50 percent of Ukraine’s energy grid has been partially or completely destroyed. To solve the problem, help from abroad is needed. “We ask if the countries have any equipment left over, perhaps in stock in their warehouse, or second-hand equipment that we can repair.”

Eastern European countries in particular could help, Sakharuk says. “In Eastern Europe, there are still many old Soviet-era power plants, which are very similar to our power plants. If the old equipment is still stored there, it could help us a lot.”

But it also calls for protection against Russian missiles. “We can fix everything now, but the Russians will continue to attack.”

To save energy supply, Ukraine has already started implementing emergency schemes for energy use. Residents were asked to be “especially aware” with electricity between 7 and 11 am. Several cities have also decided to limit the use of electric public transport, such as trolley buses, and to reduce the frequency of subways. In the capital Kiev, the supply of energy is already half decreased: Only 600 to 800 megawatts are available for the entire capital, which usually consumes 1000 to 12000 megawatts.

And it is precisely in the larger cities that this winter can hit hard, Sakharuk says. “In our big cities people live in multi-storey apartments, it is impossible to live in them without heating. Without light or electricity, it is still possible for a while. But without water, and therefore without heating, it is impossible to survive: winters in Ukraine they are too extreme. If it happens, I fear a very big humanitarian crisis. “