'Russia's goal is our water supply': Ukraine's energy minister warns of new winter threat
Ukraine's Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal (photo: facebook.com/dshmyhal)
Russian President Vladimir Putin is preparing a new phase of pressure on Ukraine. This time, the main targets of attacks may be water supply and sewage systems rather than the power grid, according to an interview with Ukraine's Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal published by Politico.
The minister explained why water could become the country's next vulnerable point.
"Russia's goal now is to destroy our water supplies. Last winter they targeted electricity and heating, but you could still survive if you had gas and water during electricity shutdowns," Shmyhal said.
"It is difficult to survive for more than three days without water and sewage," the minister added.
The war of energy systems: Who will prevail
The minister said that Ukraine and Russia are effectively fighting a parallel war to destroy each other's energy infrastructure. According to him, the outcome of this struggle will influence future peace negotiations.
"Putin wants to finish off our energy system and derail our economy and weapons production," Shmyhal said.
He added that the Kremlin leader is counting on public exhaustion during the winter.
"He also hopes in winter our society will break from exhaustion, and pressure leadership to sign the surrender."
Strikes on oil refineries are producing results
In response, Ukraine has been striking Russia's oil refineries for a long time. According to Shmyhal, these attacks have disabled about 40 percent of Russia's primary oil refining capacity, causing fuel shortages to grow across the country.
"It's like the 12th round, and each boxer hopes their rival will fall first," Shmyhal said.
What Ukraine expects this autumn
Kyiv expects that strikes on oil refineries, together with sanctions imposed by its allies, will force Putin to stop the war as early as this autumn. If that does not happen, Ukrainians will face another winter of massive attacks on the energy sector, following last year's scenario.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that sanctions pressure and strikes on Russia's infrastructure remain a priority and "will leave Russia with no other alternative but peace."
At the same time, he warned that the Kremlin currently has no intention of ending the war.
"But we clearly understand who we are dealing with and that Putin hopes to drag out this war further," Zelenskyy said.
To get through the winter, Ukraine needs PAC-3 interceptor missiles for Patriot air defense systems, as these are the missiles that shoot down Russian ballistic missiles.
How Ukraine is preparing for another winter
In addition to strengthening its defenses, the country is increasing the resilience of its own infrastructure. In particular, protective shelters are being built for electricity, water, and gas facilities.
Ukraine is also deploying modular boilers and generators. They are smaller and more dispersed, making it more difficult for Russia to disable them with a single strike.
"Ukraine has acquired the ability to adapt very quickly to crises, to challenges," Shmyhal said.
How much the energy system has been damaged
The minister provided figures illustrating the scale of the losses over the course of the war:
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Before 2014, Ukraine generated 54.5 gigawatts of electricity.
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After the full-scale invasion, generating capacity fell to 32 gigawatts.
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This year, after the winter attacks, only about 12 gigawatts remain.
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The current shortfall is 6 gigawatts, which has resulted in scheduled power outages across the country.
"Russians have destroyed or damaged more than 80 percent of Ukraine's power generation," the minister added.
Is Putin ready for peace?
Shmyhal said he hopes the Kremlin leader will realize that the war cannot be won and agree to a peace deal as early as this autumn. However, so far the leader has shown no signs of abandoning his demands toward Ukraine, meaning another winter of war remains a likely scenario.
"He will bleed, but he will drag us into the winter," Shmyhal said.
"This is a pessimistic scenario, but my optimism is that we will survive this winter. We are ready for it," he added.
The issue of missile strikes and Russia's efforts to pressure Ukraine ahead of negotiations has been raised before.
Russia has been systematically intensifying its ballistic terror against Ukraine, turning missile strikes into a tool of pressure ahead of possible negotiations.
Meanwhile, the issue of supplying Patriot systems is also not new.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on partners to provide Ukraine with Patriot air defense systems and missiles for them in order to strengthen the country's air defenses ahead of a new season of attacks.
