Will Russia hit Ukraine's energy system again? - Ukrainian expert explains
Photo: An expert assesses whether Russia will resume attacks on Ukraine's energy system (Getty Images)
At the moment, it is difficult to say whether Russia will resume attacks on Ukraine's energy system or continue its strikes on civilians. Moreover, striking nuclear power plants is pointless, as they are well protected, stated the Director of Energy Programs at the Razumkov Center, Volodymyr Omelchenko, in a comment to RBC-Ukraine's YouTube channel.
Omelchenko noted that in recent months, there were no massive Russian attacks focused on the energy system. Mainly, the Russian forces are attacking the civilian population to sow chaos and force Ukraine to surrender.
"They have shifted the focus of their strikes from the energy system to simply targeting the population, we can see this clearly. Will they resume attacks again? Well, striking nuclear power plants is pointless. There is no sense in it, because they are well protected. But possibly substations," the expert said.
He recalled that there were strikes on substations of the company Ukrenergo related to the output of capacity from nuclear power plants.
According to Omelchenko, this is also dangerous and is essentially equivalent to striking nuclear units, because if a closed-loop power circuit is instantly created due to the strikes, it could lead to accidents at nuclear units.
"This scenario is also possible, but what is the probability? I think here we need to apply the theory of probability. It is difficult to say. Unlike the President of Ukraine, I do not have information, so I cannot say whether there will be strikes, or if Russia will primarily focus on strikes on the civilian population," the expert noted.
Russia may resume strikes on Ukraine's energy system
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently warned that Russia is planning further attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure.
"Russia is planning further attacks on our energy sector — attacks that may be less visible to the world right now because all eyes are on the situation in the Middle East. Our partners’ intelligence services have the relevant data," the President said.
Zelenskyy also reported that the relevant intelligence has been shared with representatives of the United States and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
"Specific information on the Russian threat to Ukraine's nuclear power infrastructure has been passed by Ukraine's Minister of Energy to the IAEA and Mr. Witkoff. The Minister of Defense of Ukraine has conveyed information to his US counterpart," he said.
