Ukrainians must prepare for ‘difficult winter’ – minister

The upcoming cold months will be more challenging than they were last year, holder of the country’s energy portfolio has warned

Ukrainian citizens must prepare for a winter that will be more difficult to cope with than last year’s, the country’s Energy Minister German Galushchenko warned on Saturday, in a televised statement.

According to Galushchenko, there are plans to restore and build additional energy generation facilities and to establish a decentralized energy supply system for the population. However, he suggested that this may be too little, too late, noting that Russian airstrikes have had a significant impact on the Ukrainian energy network.

“We need to prepare for a difficult winter. Unfortunately, it will really be more difficult than the previous one. Nevertheless, we must try to establish autonomous energy supply systems,” Galushchenko said, adding that “for our part, we will do everything to make sure that that is not needed.”

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Earlier this month, EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson told the Financial Times that Ukraine’s energy capacity losses were estimated to be down by a whopping nine gigawatts. She explained that this represents half of the electricity Ukraine needs for the winter and is equivalent to the peak energy consumption of Portugal.

“In freezing winter temperatures, some places in Ukraine may simply become unlivable,” Simson wrote, stating that “next winter is likely to test the resilience of the Ukrainian people in a way not seen on our continent since the Second World War.”

In June, Vladimir Kudritsky, the head of Ukrenergo, the national power-grid operator, also warned that power generation in Ukraine is expected to deteriorate, in part due to necessary maintenance works on nuclear power plants.

He cautioned that power-generation capacity will not be completely restored by the winter, stating that the cold months will be “very difficult.”

“If we have shortages now, consumption is usually 35% less than in winter, then it is obvious that winter will bring even more problems related to covering energy deficit,” Kudritsky explained.

Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky has previously reported that up to 80% of the country’s energy capacity, including coal-fired power plants and hydroelectric power, have been damaged or destroyed amid the conflict with Russia. Zelensky has asked Western supporters for more air defense systems to protect the nation’s power infrastructure.