Impact of latest Russian shelling on Ukraine's energy infrastructure - Expert reveals
Major damage to Ukraine’s power grid after Russian attacks (Photo: Getty Images)
Volodymyr Omelchenko, Director of Energy Programs at the Razumkov Centre, in a comment to RBC-Ukraine, stated that currently, there is no complete picture of the state of Ukraine's energy system following the latest shelling across the country. The Ministry of Energy and Ukrenergo continue collecting and analyzing the damage information.
"The only thing that can be said is that a lot has been damaged, particularly the transmission and distribution systems. Therefore, it is difficult to transmit electricity from the west, where most power plants are, to the east, where the main industries are," he said.
According to him, the main task is determining which specific facilities have been damaged.
The expert suspects that transformer substations at major power plants have been affected by the shelling, complicating the supply of electricity.
"I suspect the outgoing transformer substations at major power plants have been hit, damaged, or destroyed. The generation itself may not have suffered as much, but the supply of electricity has been complicated due to substation damage," Omelchenko noted.
He added that Russia's plan for a partial blackout in Ukraine did not work. The energy system remains intact, control over it is maintained, the damage is currently being assessed, and the generation and consumption capabilities for scheduling.
Shelling of Ukraine's energy infrastructure
Since the beginning of this year, Ukraine's energy system has endured about ten massive shelling attacks by Russian terrorists. These strikes resulted in a power shortage, and emergency and planned repairs continued at energy facilities.
Yuriy Boyko, Advisor to the Prime Minister of Ukraine and a member of the Supervisory Board of "Ukrenergo," noted that the shelling on August 26 will require adjustments to the winter preparation plans.
