Russia is preparing to launch new mass attacks against Ukraine's energy system, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Sept. 6, citing military intelligence data.
Russia carried out a massive campaign of aerial attacks against Ukraine's energy infrastructure over the spring, similar to the one launched during the fall and winter of 2022-23.
The damage caused a serious energy deficit and necessitated rolling blackouts across the country.
Speaking in the parliament, Shmyhal said that Ukraine could go through winter without power outages if no ensuing attacks change the situation.
"But we understand that the enemy will not give us the luxury of living in peace," Shmyhal said.
"We already have intelligence that the next mass missile and drone strikes on our power system are already being prepared."
After a relative lull over the summer that gave Ukraine a chance to restore some of its capacity, Russia launched fresh attacks in the past few days, again necessitating restrictions on energy consumption.
The largest-ever aerial strike against Ukraine took place on Aug. 26 with Russia firing over 230 missiles and drones and yet again targeting energy infrastructure.
Due to dwindling energy supplies caused by Russian attacks, Ukraine's largest privately-owned energy provider, DTEK, has warned that Ukrainians may only have electricity for 6-7 hours per day in the upcoming winter.
In a "worst-case" scenario in which Ukraine is unable to repair damaged energy facilities and prevent future attacks, Ukrainians could experience up to 20 hours of blackouts a day, DTEK Executive Director Dmytro Sakharuk told the Kyiv Independent in an interview in early June.
Andrea Januta
