Russia’s war tactics are efficient — and ruthless: according to government figures in Kiev, Russian missile strikes have destroyed about half of Ukraine’s power supply. This as winter sets in. Temperatures have dropped below freezing. The first snow fell this week.
Millions of people live in darkness and freezing cold. Due to the Russian “energy terror”, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky (44), they are without electricity and without heating. There are also increasing reports of looting.
For many people it is a matter of survival, warns the head of Ukraine’s largest private electricity supplier. He calls on people to flee abroad. Otherwise, the country will not survive the winter.
“Go If You Can”
Maxim Timschenko is CEO of Ukrainian electricity company Dtek. The targeted Russian attacks had destroyed 50 percent of Ukraine’s electricity infrastructure, Timschenko warned in an interview with the BBC on Saturday – confirming the figure given by President Zelensky on Friday.
The population can no longer be supplied with enough heat and electricity to get through the winter, says Tymoshenko. He calls on citizens to leave the country this winter. This is the only way Ukraine can overcome the crippling energy crisis.
Those who can afford it must leave the country for a few months. Then the energy supplies can be deployed where they are most needed: in hospitals, important government and command posts, in rail traffic. “If you find an alternative place where you can stay for another three or four months, it will be very useful for the system,” Timschenko appealed to the population. Those who cannot flee should save electricity – use household appliances such as ovens and washing machines less.
The situation is getting “worse”
“The situation is getting worse,” Timschenko said. “Unfortunately, after each attack, we have less and less reliable and stable energy systems.” You can contribute to other people when you leave the country. For example, the power supply of hospitals is guaranteed to provide wounded soldiers.
There are now emergency power outages in metropolitan areas such as Kiev and Odessa. The authorities have also set up so-called ‘invincibility points’: emergency points where people can warm up, eat something warm, drink hot tea and charge their mobile phones.
New wave of refugees feared
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, 55, said earlier this week that the attacks on Ukraine’s power grid were “a consequence” of Ukraine’s refusal to negotiate with Russia. “The Russians used to be colleagues,” says Timschenko. “Now they are enemies.”
Timshenko’s call for fellow citizens to temporarily leave the country follows a similar request from Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, 51, earlier this month.
A new wave of refugees from Ukraine is now looming, which could also overwhelm Western European countries that are also struggling with energy and living costs, albeit to a much less dramatic degree. (kes)