This was stated by Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, Chairman of the Board of NEC “Ukrenergo.”
According to Kudrytskyi, the most critical situation is currently observed at thermal and hydroelectric power plants. However, this does not mean they cannot be restored.
“At this moment, we have a historic record for how low the capacity is at thermal power plants. The scale of damage at hydroelectric power plants is also significant. You could say that almost no hydroelectric plant remains undamaged”, he said.
Kudrytskyi added that the deficits observed in the energy system cannot be covered even by substantial imports from European Union countries. He emphasizes that the attacks on hydroelectric and thermal power plants played a huge role.
“And the bad news is that it is technically impossible to quickly restore these damaged power plants. This will take time: weeks, more often months, sometimes years”, he stated.
Russian Strikes on Energy Infrastructure
It should be recalled that after the destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Station by the Russians on June 6, 2023, Ukraine lost 335 MW of renewable energy capacity. Andriy Novak, Head of the Committee of Economists of Ukraine, stated this during an interview on KIEV24. According to him, Ukraine’s economy has suffered greatly due to the loss of these capacities in the energy system.
Additionally, on the night of April 11, the Russians completely destroyed the Trypilska Thermal Power Plant in the Kyiv region. The strikes caused a massive fire in the turbine hall. The machine hall of the nuclear reactor is the only safe place, while the rest of the facilities do not have targeted protection.
At the end of March, Russian terrorist forces destroyed one of the largest thermal power plants in the Kharkiv region – the Zmiivska TPP. The strike on March 22 destroyed all units and damaged auxiliary equipment. The degree of destruction varies from complete to significant.
Photo: Trypilska Thermal Power Plant/Open sources