Russian attacks have damaged or destroyed over 800 heating facilities across Ukraine since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on May 8.
Moscow has recently intensified its missile and drone strikes against Ukraine's critical infrastructure, launching large-scale attacks on energy facilities across the country on March 22, March 29, April 11, April 27, and May 8.
Ukraine's power generation capacity has decreased by up to 8 gigawatt hours (GWh) and needs nearly $1 billion to compensate, Shmyhal said during a meeting dedicated to preparing for the upcoming autumn-winter season.
Shmyhal said more assistance from international partners to support Ukraine's energy infrastructure.
"We need to redouble our efforts to attract resources," Shmyhal added.
Over 410 million euros ($440.5 million) have already been collected for the Energy Support Fund of Ukraine and a new United States Agency for International Development (USAID) program worth $190 million for Ukraine's energy sector will be launched soon, but this is not enough, Shmyhal said.
Ukraine's energy and infrastructure ministries will reportedly create repair schedules for the country's energy infrastructure in preparation for the upcoming heating season.
Ukraine's largest private energy company DTEK said on April 28 that Russian forces have targeted Ukraine's thermal power plants nearly 180 times since the full-scale war started.
Chris York
