President Volodymyr Zelensky announced a set of measures to protect the Ukrainian energy system, including protection of the power plants that are under fire from Russian troops and the development of alternative renewable energy sources, reported Reuters, quoted by BTA.
"Life in Ukraine must be preserved, and this includes energy security in particular," Zelensky said in his nightly video address.
Russia attacked Ukraine's energy system in the first winter of the war, which began in February 2022, and resumed attacks on energy targets in March last year, when Ukraine was short of Western air defense missiles.
Drone and missile strikes have knocked out half of power generation facilities since March, official data show, Reuters points out.
On Thursday night, the attacks affected four regions and cut power to more than 218,000 consumers, the energy ministry said.
Zelensky outlined plans to minimize the effects of such attacks, including a program to develop solar energy and energy storage facilities and a schedule for critical infrastructure sites to provide alternative energy sources.
In his words, the work must be completed before winter and the increased demand for energy associated with the change of seasons.
Zelensky stated that the government will "continue to work on the creation of new sources of energy and new decentralized energy capacities". The "construction of new balanced and maneuverable energy capacities" is also planned.
"This process is quite difficult under military conditions, but we have to carry it out, as we have already carried out many difficult projects," said the Ukrainian president.