Ukraine denounced a massive Attack” of Russian forces during the night of this Friday, directed at installations of energy infrastructure in the west and south of the country. According to him Ministry of energy Ukrainian, this bombing is the eighth large span that the country faces in the last three months.
During the attack, the operator’s facilities Ukrenergo in the regions of Zaporozhye and Lviv were damaged. Two employees of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant were injured and taken to hospital due to the bombing. The DTEK company, Ukraine’s largest private energy company, reported that the attacks caused “serious damage” to one of its plants.
More than two years after the start of the Russian invasion, the attacks with missiles and drones have significantly depleted Ukraine’s electricity generation capacity, forcing kyiv to impose electrical outages and importing supplies from the European Union.
Ukrainian authorities noted that in a previous attack, another critical aspect of energy infrastructure, including a power plant, was severely damaged, leaving seven employees injured.
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, indicated that these attacks have destroyed half of the country’s energy capacity. “We are doing everything we can to ensure that Russian attempts to blackmail us with heat and electricity fail.Zelensky stated.
Underlining the seriousness of the situation, Maxim TimchenkoCEO of DTEK, warned of the serious crisis that Ukraine may face this winter if Western allies do not provide military aid to defend the energy grid.
“We face a serious crisis this winter”, he warned.
Zelensky has repeatedly reiterated his call for Ukraine’s allies to send more air defense systems to protect the country’s vital infrastructure.
“I am deeply grateful” by the US movement, Zelensky wrote in a message on X, referring to the priority of deliveries of anti-aircraft missiles to kyiv. According to John Kirbyspokesperson for US National Security CouncilWashington has decided to give preference to deliveries of anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine, ahead of other countries that have placed orders.
Additionally, the Ukrainian president announced this week that all hospitals and schools must be equipped with solar panels “as soon as possible” as an additional measure to ensure energy self-sufficiency against future attacks.
With Ukraine’s electrical infrastructure in a critical situation, the country remains dependent on international support. Meanwhile, Russia’s continued aggression demonstrates its strategy of destabilizing the country by affecting its essential services.
Meanwhile, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) warned this Friday of the risk to nuclear security posed by the intense Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, as they may cause cuts in the electricity supply that the nuclear plants of the attacked country need to receive permanently.
In a statement, the IAEA recalled that “Ukraine’s power grid has been severely affected by the conflict, with extensive damage caused by attacks on infrastructure in recent months”.
“Persistent risks related to the availability of external energy remain a source of deep concern for nuclear security,” he stressed. Rafael Grossigeneral director of the Vienna-based organization.
“I remain extremely concerned about the external energy situation of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants (…) It is essential that the energy infrastructure is protected and preserved at all times,” he added.
He also reported that the IAEA team stationed at the atomic power plant in Zaporozhye (ZNPP), Europe’s largest, has continued to hear signs of military activity over the past week, including two explosions near the site on the 16th and 17th.
However, ZNPP operators assured the agency’s experts that there had been no impact on the facility or its surroundings.
Located in the southeast of Ukraine, the plant Zaporozhye It is controlled by Russia.
The IAEA – the agency of the UN system in charge of ensuring the peaceful use of nuclear technology – confirmed that “the Luch (electrical distribution) substation, in the city of Enerhodar, was destroyed” last Wednesday, apparently by a drone attack.
(With information from AFP and EFE)
