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.
Most Popular
Europe’s plan to fund Ukraine is being blocked by one company — Euroclear
Hunted relentlessly by Russian drones, 2 Ukrainian soldiers survive 165 days on the front line
Ukrainian drones destroy 70% of fuel tanks at Russia's Temryuk Seaport, General Staff says
Russia’s air defenses have a Flamingo missile-sized weak spot, report suggests
US sides with Russia on UN resolution on Chornobyl disaster
News Feed Show More
Saturday, December 13
Explosions were reported in Russia's Saratov Oblast overnight on Dec. 13 as officials warned of a possible drone attack, with unverified local reports indicating the Saratov oil refinery had been targeted.
(Updated: )Politics
Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) carried out a second drone strike this week on Russia's Vladimir Filanovsky oil production platform in the Caspian Sea, also hitting the nearby Korchagin platform, an SBU source said Dec. 12.
(Updated: )War
(Updated: )
Russia’s Slavneft-YANOS oil refinery in Yaroslavl, one of the country’s five largest, is reportedly on fire after being struck in an overnight drone attack on Dec. 12, officials and local Telegram channels said.
"You don't need to hide; I will come after each of you personally," said Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, responding to a wave of anonymous posts alleging he had submitted a letter of resignation.
The Russian Central Bank said in a press release that it had sued Euroclear, the Belgian financial institution holding the vast majority of Europe's frozen assets, in a Moscow court on Dec. 12.
Ukraine’s Security Service said Friday that it detained three men suspected of planting two homemade bombs that killed a National Guard serviceman and wounded four other people in Kyiv a day earlier.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised troops in the Kupiansk direction and said battlefield gains strengthen Ukraine’s diplomatic position, as the National Guard’s 2nd Khartiia Corps reported a counterattack north of the city.
"We must be prepared for the scale of war our grandparents and great-grandparents endured," NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte warned.
