Ukraine needs as much as $1 billion to restore critical infrastructure quickly in order to get through the winter, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Dec. 12.
"The estimated cost of supporting the power industry is estimated at $500 million, and the same amount is needed for the heating sector," he explained.
Shmyhal also said that, by attacking Ukraine's energy infrastructure, Russia is trying to "flood" the European Union with a new wave of refugees.
He noted that Russian missile and artillery strikes on energy infrastructure facilities led to electricity and water supply outages that affected millions of Ukrainians amid freezing weather.
Shmyhal called on Western allies to provide Ukraine with Patriot air defense systems, among other air defenses, to counter Russian attacks.
On the previous day, Shmyhal warned of "significant" energy cuts this winter after Russia's missile blitz damaged "all thermal and hydroelectric power plants" across the country.
Since Oct. 10, Moscow has unleashed six large-scale strikes targeting Ukraine's energy sector, killing dozens of civilians and causing emergency blackouts.
Russia has fired over a thousand missiles and loitering munitions at energy infrastructure nationwide over the last two months, Volodymyr Kudrytsky, CEO of Ukraine's state grid operator Ukrenergo, said on Dec. 9.
The most recent nationwide attack on Ukraine occurred on Dec. 5, killing four and hitting energy sites in at least three regions.
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The recent Russian attack destroyed all restored capacity, leaving the plants generating no power, the state-owned energy company Centrenergo said on Nov. 8.
Russia launched yet another wide-ranging attack on Ukrainian cities overnight on Nov. 8, using a combination of drone and missiles to strike targets across the country.
As winter approaches and Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy system intensify, a small unit from the 3rd Army Corps spends sleepless nights hunting long-range Shahed drones on the front line in Kharkiv Oblast — before they reach Ukrainian cities.
The Russian strike killed 12 servicemen and seven civilians, while 36 others were injured, according to the Prosecutor General's Office.
Russia carried out a drone attack on the city of Dnipro overnight on Nov. 8, killing at least three people and injuring 12 others, including two children, officials reported.
Ukrainian forces downed 406 out of the 458 drones, including Shahed-type attack drones, launched by Russia overnight, the Air Force reported. Russia also launched 45 cruise and ballistic missiles, nine of which were downed, the statement said.
The number includes 1,190 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.
"We have received a full sanctions exemption for the Turk Stream and Druzhba pipelines," Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said. Reuters reported that the exemption was granted for one year.
"He was the head of a large system, and this system was supposed to ensure the security of our energy sector. He was obliged to do this — and he did not," the president told journalists on Nov. 7.
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