The upcoming cold months will be challenging for the population amid growing energy woes, according to a report
Ukrainian citizens should be bracing for long hours without heat or electricity this coming winter, according to a report by the country’s Center for Countering Disinformation (CCD) at the National Security and Defense Council.
Published on Wednesday, the publication projected that power outages could last up to 12 hours a day in the event of a moderate winter and stable operation of eight to nine nuclear power plant units.
The worst-case scenario assumes that the population could be left with almost no power at all, according to the report.
“…If Russia continues to attack Ukrainian energy, then this winter Ukrainians may spend up to 20 hours a day without light and heating,” the CCD warned.
Russia has been attacking Ukrainian power plants since spring, responding to Kiev’s campaign of drone strikes on Russian oil refineries and storage depots. The stated goal was to cripple Ukrainian arms production and its ability to deploy new troops to the front line.
The CCD report said that an additional 1 GW of decentralized capacity, announced recently by Vladimir Zelensky, would hardly help to stabilize the situation. The Ukrainian leader has said he aims to replace the country’s damaged large-scale thermal and hydro power plants with hundreds of smaller, more easily concealed power stations. According to the report, it is unlikely these could be launched before the start of the heating season.
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