Some 80% of the country’s thermal power generation capacity has been destroyed in Russian attacks, according to Vladimir Zelensky
FILE PHOTO: Rescuers and workers clear debris in a turbine hall after a strike on a power plant in an undisclosed location in Ukraine. © AFP / Genya Savilov
Russia has targeted Ukraine’s power grid because it provides energy to Kiev’s military infrastructure, Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov has said.
Peskov told journalists that it would be better to address the question of whether Ukraine’s energy facilities constitute a legitimate target to the Russian Armed Forces, when questioned about the issue on Tuesday.
However, the spokesman stressed that “undoubtedly, in specific cases it [the power grid] is related to the military infrastructure” of Ukraine.
Russian strikes on thermal and hydroelectric power plants in Ukraine have forced the country’s energy companies to institute nationwide rolling blackouts in recent weeks.
Speaking at a conference of Kiev’s backers in Berlin on Tuesday, Vladimir Zelensky claimed that energy remains “one of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s main targets.”
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Russia’s missile and drone campaign has already destroyed nine gigawatts of Ukraine’s electrical generating capacity, including 80% of thermal power and one third of hydroelectric power, the politician said.
Zelensky noted that Ukraine is going to need equipment for heating and electricity plants from its foreign supporters in the coming months. “This will allow us to respond to the situation here and now,” he explained.
Throughout the conflict between Moscow and Kiev, the Russian Defense Ministry has been saying that its missile and drone attacks have been solely aimed at Ukrainian military facilities and energy infrastructure, which ensures the operation of the country’s defense industry.
According to the ministry, the resumption of strikes against the power grid in recent months was a response to Kiev’s attempts to target Russian oil depots and refineries.