Prime minister: Ukraine needs $1 billion to restore energy sector.

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.