Russian missiles of all kinds kind, unmanned aerial vehicles and adjustable aerial bombs fly over the territory of Ukraine every day, and every day Ukrainians hear about the upcoming transfer of air defense/air defense systems and military assistance from foreign partners. But is there still time to wait?
After the so-called another election for Putin, in the spring of 2024, the Kremlin decided to resort to new tactics of attacks against Ukraine – these are powerful attacks against the Ukrainian energy system. His targets have now become large energy devices, and his strikes are becoming more targeted, complex and combo. The most massive attacks against Ukrainian energy facilities in this new wave were carried out on March 22, March 29 and April 11, 2024.
On April 11, the Tripoli TPP, the largest in the Kyiv region, was completely destroyed by a Russian missile. This thermal power plant was the main supplier of electricity for Kyiv, Cherkasy and Zhytomyr regions.
On March 22, TPP-5 (one of the largest in Ukraine) and the “Zmievskaya“ TPP were destroyed in Kharkiv Oblast after a Russian attack. Due to the destruction of these thermal power plants, Kharkiv lost its main capacities for the production of heat and electricity. Then there was a blackout in Kharkiv, the city was left without electricity. On the same day, key energy facilities in Vinnytsia, Lviv and Dnipro regions also suffered significant damage. Rebuilding these facilities will take years.
On March 29, Russian missiles attacked the Kanev hydroelectric power plant (Cherkasy region) and the Dniester hydroelectric power plant (Cherniv region).
The Kremlin is targeting power plants in certain regions to force them to cut power. Today, in Ukraine's electricity sector, 50% of production capacity and 20% of distribution capacity have been lost, at least temporarily.
At the same time, the Russians act extremely cynically: first the city is attacked by a wave of missiles or kamikaze drones; Medical, fire and search and rescue services arrive at the scene of the impact; The city is then attacked by a second wave of attack drones that deliberately hit previous targets, resulting in the death of officers of said services.
With such actions, Russian troops are violating the Fourth Geneva Convention for the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War by targeting energy infrastructure, housing and medical facilities. In this way, Russia seeks to create a humanitarian disaster in Ukraine, to sow chaos and panic among the population. And therefore, Ukraine has the exclusive right of self-defense in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter.
It was the strengthening of Ukraine's defense that was discussed at the summit of the Three Seas Initiative (Trimorie) in Vilnius.
The Trimorie Summit is an international economic and infrastructure initiative uniting Ukraine and 12 EU countries located near the Baltic, Black and Adriatic Seas. The initiative aims to create a regional dialogue on various issues affecting member countries. The first summit was held in Dubrovnik in 2016. At the seventh summit in Riga on June 20, 2022, Ukraine received the status of a participant in this initiative.
„We need the protection of Kharkiv, Odessa, Nikolaev, Zaporozhye and all our other cities from Russian attacks. And the first thing is the air defense”, emphasized the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky. The key now for Ukraine's partner countries is to do everything to strengthen Ukraine's air defenses, meet the needs of the Ukrainian military, and consolidate international support to counter Russian terror. After all, Ukraine is only an “intermediate link” for “the conquerors“ of the Kremlin. Putin's troops are looking to go further - into Poland, the Baltic countries and further into Europe.
At the Trimorie summit, participants expressed strong support for Ukraine in the fight against the Russian Federation and a joint declaration was adopted expressing a commitment to a more resilient Europe, a stronger transatlantic partnership and unwavering support for Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression.
Polish President Andrzej Duda said Poland has stockpiles of missiles for Soviet air defense systems and is considering transferring them to Ukraine. “Poland has missiles in its stockpile. And we discussed the possibility of transferring them to Ukraine to ensure Ukraine's air defense. I will speak to my Minister of Defense when I return to Warsaw.
Lithuania, realizing the full extent of the destruction in Ukraine, is ready to transfer to Ukraine energy equipment from the Vilnius TPP and the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant.
Latvia and Ukraine signed a bilateral security agreement. According to him, Latvia will provide military aid to Ukraine in the amount of 0.25% of GDP per year. In addition, Latvia has made a 10-year commitment to support Ukraine in cyber defense, demining, unmanned technologies and, of course, promotes Ukraine's accession to the EU and NATO.
In providing aid to Ukraine, European leaders are increasingly aware of the fact that “in order for Russian missiles not to fly over Vilnius, Warsaw or Chisinau, they must finally stop flying over Odessa and Kharkiv”.
After all, the Kremlin is a threat not only to Ukraine, but to every nation bordering Russia and to anyone who values international law. The partners must therefore fulfill their obligations to support Ukraine to thwart the plans of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.