KYIV (Reuters) – Ukraine has nearly completed repairs of its power systems following Russian air strikes on energy infrastructure last winter, and is ready for the coming winter, a senior energy official said on Wednesday.
“We have installed all the equipment we planned and we are ready for the winter loads,” Volodymyr Kudrytskiy, head of state-owned Ukrenergo power grid operator, told national television.
Russia’s campaign of frequent missile and drone attacks resulted in power cuts and scheduled blackouts to limit energy use, leaving towns and cities in darkness for hours at a time over winter.
Kudrytskiy said there was a ‘high risk’ of new attacks on the county’s energy system this winter, but that Ukrainian air defences were much stronger now.
“We know what it looks like (to be attacked) and it will be very difficult for the enemy to surprise us after the 1,200 missiles they fired at the power system last winter,” he said.
Kudrytskiy said earlier this year that fast repairs and equipment sent by Kyiv’s Western partners had helped residents and businesses adapt.
He said the pace of repairs this year was six to seven times quicker than the average time for repairs before Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Ukrenergo has already received about 900 million euros ($984 million) in foreign financing to help with the repairs, and the company is looking for additional financing for the coming winter season.
(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk, Editing by Timothy Heritage)
