Ukraine is set to face its toughest winter since the start of the full-scale invasion as Russia eyes cutting off its nuclear power after already bombing out capacity from half of its electricity generation sector in large-scale air strikes. For now, Russia is not directly striking the plants with missiles
For the first time since the full-scale invasion, Russia launched drone attacks on cities and towns across Ukraine on a daily basis for an entire month. According to Ukraine's Air Force, 1,339 Shahed-type kamikaze drones targeted the country in September, 1,107 of which were shot down, with some
Ukraine is in talks with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to place foreign observers near its nuclear power plants amid reports Russia is planning to attack the infrastructure connecting the plants to the country's energy grid, an Energy Ministry official said.
The announcement came on Oct. 2 as USAID chief Samantha Power arrived in Kyiv, marking her third visit to Ukraine since 2020.
Ukraine's state nuclear energy agency Energoatom signed on Sept. 25 a contract worth Hr 509 million ($12.3 million) for the design and construction of a protective structure at the Rivne Nuclear Power Plant, Ukrainian investigative media outlet Nashi Groshi reported on Sept. 30.
Russia destroyed all thermal power plants and almost all hydroelectric capacity in Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sept. 25 during his speech at the U.N. General Assembly in New York. Russia launched nine coordinated attacks against Ukraine's electricity infrastructure between March and August, striking facilities in 20 oblasts.
Danish Energy Minister Lars Aagaard announced new financial assistance for Ukraine on Sept. 23 in New York during a meeting within the G7 working group on Ukraine's energy security.
"Russia must pay for the destruction it caused," von der Leyen said.
Russia's attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure caused a sharp rise in Ukrainians citing blackouts as a reason for leaving the country over the summer, the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) said in a report published on Sept. 19.
Russia is once again planning a "winter war with the aim of making the lives of people in Ukraine as terrible as possible," German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said.
An explosive object was discovered near an electrical substation in Kyiv Oblast, the Energy Ministry reported on Sept. 12.
Ahead of the coming winter, Ukraine has protected 85% of its energy infrastructure in anticipation of further Russian attacks, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said at a Sept. 10 press conference attended by a Kyiv Independent reporter.
The EU is providing Ukraine with a $44 million (40 million euro) humanitarian aid package to assist with energy repair works ahead of winter, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Sept. 6.
Ukraine is set to receive $800 million from the U.S. to help stabilize its severely damaged energy infrastructure, Yulia Svyrydenko, Ukraine's First Deputy Prime Minister, announced during her visit to Washington on Aug. 31.
Viktoriia Skyba, a 29-year-old mother of two, didn't have the time to reach a bomb shelter when Russia attacked her town during what Ukrainian officials have said is the largest attack on Ukraine since the full-scale invasion. She saw a missile flying above her house and a large pillar of
After the morning attack on Kyiv Oblast, the Kyiv dam was closed for means of transport until 5 p.m. local time.
Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko denied any indirect negotiations with Russia to stop attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure in an interview on national television on Aug. 24.
"Everyone understands that thanks to nuclear power, the whole country has been living without electricity supply restrictions for ten days now," Minister Herman Halushchenko said.
In the long run, the Ukrainian government will decide how to generate electricity on its own, but building up nuclear power is a rational quick solution, Penny Pritzker, U.S. special representative for Ukraine's Economic Recovery, said.
Russian forces launched an attack against Sumy Oblast overnight on July 20, damaging an energy facility in the Konotop district.
Representatives of Ukraine's state energy grid operator, Ukrenergo, and the KfW Development Bank signed an agreement worth 100 million euros (nearly $110 million) for energy projects, Ukrenergo announced on July 19.
"For the enemy, the Dnipro Hydroelectric Station is more easily reachable, the front line is 50 kilometers away (from it)," Ukrhydroenergo CEO Ihor Syrota said in an interview with Forbes Ukraine.
The Russian strikes damaged more than half of the city's generating capacity, Deputy Head of the Kyiv City State Administration said.
Ukraine's government has not distributed EU funding for the reconstruction and protection of energy infrastructure worth 150 million euros ($162 million) for four months due to "bureaucratic obstacles," Ekonomichna Pravda (EP) reported on July 4, citing sources familiar with the situation.
Russia has struck DTEK thermal power plants over 180 times, causing losses worth at least $350 million.
The total amount of donor contributions to the fund are over 551 million euros (around $558 million) as of June, according to Ukraine's ministry.
Prices of basic goods like groceries may increase by up to 15% due to frequent blackouts causing an increase in the costs faced by food producers, Forbes Ukraine reported on June 20.
Rusian attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure are increasing the risk of the spread of infectious diseases like hepatitis, as water supply often stops when electricity is cut off, Health Minister Viktor Liashko said in an interview with BBC Ukraine published on June 20.
The situation of limited electricity supply will improve in August 2024 following the completion of scheduled repairs at a number of power units, the head of Ukraine's Energy Supervision Inspectorate, Ruslan Slobodyan, announced on June 19.
Ukrainians may have electricity for 6-7 hours per day in the upcoming winter if the electricity deficit remains at 35%, Serhiy Kovalenko, the CEO of energy supplier Yasno (DTEK), said on June 17 on national television.
Russia's full-scale invasion has inflicted $56.2 billion in damage to Ukraine's energy sector as of May 2024, according to the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE) report published on June 10.
One person was killed and two were wounded by Russian attacks in southern Kherson Oblast, the local authorities reported on June 8. A 60-year-old woman was fatally wounded in the village of Dudchany at around noon, regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said in a Telegram post. Two men were wounded by
