Ukrainian energy utility DTEK has had five of its power plants severely damaged in attacks over the past nine days. It was told on Sunday that it could take up to 18 months before they are fully back online. The Netherlands-based private energy and mining company supplies 25 percent of Ukraine's electricity needs.
In all, according to DTEK, five of its six largest power plants are operating at up to 80 percent of normal production capacity. The company employs about 70,000 people, including the largest private energy supplier and coal miner in Ukraine.
Emergency shutdown in many areas
According to the company, there were “emergency shutdowns” of the network over the weekend, including the regions of Dnipropetrovsk in the south and Donetsk in the east of the country. Regional authorities recently announced interruptions in power supply in Sumy in the northeast and Poltava in the center of the country.
Ukrainian officials did not say how many homes were affected by the power outage, but most of them were said to have had power restored on Saturday. However, 120,000 homes in the Kharkiv region in eastern Ukraine still had limited power as local infrastructure suffered “significant damage”, the energy ministry said.
A new plea for help from the West
The Russian military launched a series of attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure a week ago and again on Friday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi spoke on Saturday about “brutal attacks” by the Russian military.
He once again urgently asked for more international assistance in securing his country's energy infrastructure. “We have sent the necessary signals and specific requests to all our partners who have the necessary air defense systems and missiles,” he said. “The US, Europe and other allies know exactly what we need.”
Attack on Kagovka dam last year
According to Zelensky, two large hydropower plants were the target of Russian attacks on Friday night. These are Kaniv and Dniester facilities, he said in a telegram. “The terrorist state wants to repeat the Kherson environmental disaster. But now not only Ukraine, but also Moldova is at risk.
In June 2023, the Khakovka Dam exploded after a Russian attack and the associated hydroelectric station was destroyed. Large parts of the Kherson region were flooded with heavy water. “Heating and hydropower plants in the central and western regions have been damaged,” network operator Ukrainerho said by telegram on Saturday.
According to Ukrainian Energy Minister German Kalushchenko, Russian attacks on power plants and power grids using drones and cruise missiles took place in several areas across the country. Ukraine had to temporarily stop its electricity exports.
Ukraine has the Russian oil industry in its sights
Ukraine, for its part, has recently stepped up attacks on oil refineries and the Russian oil industry in general. In mid-March, at least nine refineries on Russian territory were targeted by Ukrainian drone strikes 2,000 kilometers away.
The US business news agency Bloomberg wrote about the “new phase” of the war aimed at weakening the Russian economy, with the oil industry playing a key role in the war of aggression against Ukraine, on the one hand financing the war from fuel to supply the troops and on the other hand foreign currency exports for revenue.
The SBU, the Ukrainian secret service, spoke of a well-calculated strategy to “deprive enemy resources.” According to estimates, the attacks have so far cost the Russian oil industry more than ten percent of its production capacity.
