After the war, Ukraine to offer global system for protecting energy facilities during combat, says UkrEnergo
Ukraine will be in a position to propose a system for safeguarding energy facilities during armed conflicts once the war concludes, Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, the CEO of UkrEnergo, said in an interview with RFE/RL on Sept. 28.
Procedures developed by UkrEnergo in collaboration with the Ukrainian military’s General Staff have piqued the interest of other nations, said Kudrytskyi.
“We had to seek these solutions ourselves, in cooperation with the General Staff,” he said.
“The interest from different countries and government agencies in what we do within the energy system, not only in our decisions regarding engineering protection but also in how we essentially maintain the system under fire, how we restore it — is enormous.”
“All our foreign partners converge on the idea that after our victory, we will be able to share information a bit more,” Kudrytskyi added.\He highlighted that countries are eager to learn from Ukraine how to maintain an energy system under conditions of full-scale warfare.
He also revealed that there has been reinforcement in the realm of protecting Ukrainian energy infrastructure with air defense systems, but this information remains highly classified.“We closely coordinate with our colleagues in the Defense Forces, particularly those responsible for air defense systems,” Kudrytskyi said.
“Therefore, in essence, we have an integrated system for protecting energy facilities, which includes both organizational and active air defense, as well as passive protection through engineering fortifications.”
Since October the last year, Russia has been actively launching extensive missile strikes against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. Over several months, Ukraine endured over 10 waves of large-scale Russian missile attacks, during which the enemy used dozens of missiles of various types and ranges.
Due to power capacity shortages in the energy system, the Energy Ministry was compelled to implement a schedule of rolling blackouts for consumers. However, despite the challenging winter for Ukrainians, the adversary failed to achieve its goal of causing a complete blackout in Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy convened a meeting of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief Staff on Sept. 9, at which they discussed the defense of the energy and port infrastructure against Russian attacks.
UK intelligence reports indicate that despite the likelihood of continued Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure this winter, Ukraine demonstrated last winter that it possesses a qualified workforce and the necessary experience to maintain its energy network even under wartime conditions.
The military war may be swinging in our favor, but the information war continues.
Just as an army needs soldiers, so does a free society need its journalists to ensure that people have access to honest, trustworthy voices to understand the world around them.
For the past five years, The New Voice of Ukraine has been working tirelessly to push back against Russian narratives and defend democracy. But we cannot do it alone.
Please consider supporting us on Patreon for just $5 a month – your donation does directly to supporting journalists and ensuring that this front of the infowar says solid and defended.
Thank you.
Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google News
