Since October 10, Russian raids have damaged between 30 and 40 percent of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, with monetary losses estimated to be in the billions.
Herman Halushchenko, the energy minister for Ukraine, stated on October 21: “The loss is enormous. I’d guess that (Ukraine) lost at least half or more of its ability to generate thermal electricity “.
Several thermal power facilities have been targeted by Russia in the last week, according to Halushchenko, who also said that the strikes cost Ukraine 4,000 MW of electricity.
Halushchenko claims that while some of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure—roughly 30–40% of it—was harmed by Russian raids, not all of it was fully shut down.
When it launched a slew of significant drone and missile attacks on Ukraine’s vital infrastructure, including power facilities, earlier this month, Russia signalled a shift in strategy. According to Ukrainian officials, Moscow wants to “completely destroy” Kiev’s energy infrastructure in order to prevent Ukrainian forces from launching a response.
Halushchenko estimated losses in the billions of dollars and added, “We learned that they were targeting not only a bunch of new facilities, but also the ones they’ve attacked before to utterly destroy them.”
The Ukrainian government has asked people to save electricity to prevent recurring power outages in reaction to the scenario of the power grid being destroyed. As a result, it is urged that individuals avoid using superfluous equipment and consume as little electricity as possible from 7am to 11pm.
Electricity imports, according to Mr. Halushchenko, are one of Ukraine’s possibilities for resolving its present energy issue. With a number of vendors, Kiev has started negotiations.
In spite of these difficulties, Ukraine persisted with its counteroffensive operation in the South, particularly in Kherson. According to observers, Ukraine will launch a significant counterattack in Kherson during the coming few days.
With reports that Kiev is preparing a large ambush, the Kherson government, which was installed by Russia, has just started evacuating residents of the province to Russia or the west bank of the Dnipro River. Kirill Stremousov, the leader of Kherson, declared that the city had transformed into a “fortress” and was prepared to stave off the Ukrainian attack.
Moscow asserts that a possible missile attack by the Ukrainian military to destroy a sizable hydroelectric dam in Kherson is in the works. Kiev has refuted this, claiming that Moscow will demolish the dam in order to place the responsibility on Ukraine.
Kherson was seized by Russia in March of this year. Additionally, since Russia began a military attack in February, this is the first significant city in Ukraine to fall. After a contentious referendum, Kherson and three other provinces (which together make up around 18% of Ukraine’s land area) joined with Russia at the beginning of this month.
According to John Spencer, a specialist at the Institute for the Study of Modern Warfare, if Ukraine attempted to retake Kherson, that may have a significant impact on how the war turned out.
