The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine says attacks on the country’s electricity infrastructure by Russia may violate international humanitarian law. Meanwhile, Russia claims gains in Kursk
The International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Thursday that the coming winter would provide the “sternest test yet” for Ukraine’s battered energy infrastructure.
“Ukraine’s energy system has made it through the past two winters,” IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said at a press conference releasing a new report. “But this winter will be, by far, its sternest test yet.”
The IEA report said that in 2022 and 2023, “about half of Ukraine’s power generation capacity was either occupied by Russian forces, destroyed or damaged, and approximately half of the large network substations were damaged by missiles and drones.”
It said that, given Ukraine’s power generation capacity had fallen by two-thirds since Russia’s full-scale invasion, there was a “yawning gap between available electricity supply and peak demand.”
The international body called on European countries to expedite the delivery of equipment and parts to repair or rebuild damaged facilities and called for improved measures to protect them from aerial attacks.
“Strains that are bearable during the summer months may become unbearable when temperatures start to fall and supplies of heat and water falter,” the report warned. It estimated a possible peak power demand in winter in Ukraine of approaching 19 gigawatts and noted how the country regularly failed to meet peak summer demand of 12 gigawatts this year.
It estimated the cost of necessary repairs and upgrades to Ukraine’s power generation facilities at around $30 billion (roughly €27 billion).
The IEA also called on the EU to increase its electricity and gas export capabilities to Ukraine.
