Russian forces completely destroy Kharkiv's energy system

The Russian forces have destroyed almost all thermal power plants (TPP) that supplied energy to the city of Kharkiv, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said during a briefing.

Photo: commons.wikimedia.org by State Emergency Service of Ukraine, CC BY 4.0

According to Shmyhal, the Ukrainian authorities organized the delivery of small mobile boiler houses to the city, the capacity of which did not exceed one megawatt.

On September 9, the Armed Forces of Russia carried out a series of powerful strikes targeting energy facilities in Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhia, Sumy, Kharkiv, Kherson and Chernihiv regions. The Ministry of Energy of Ukraine confirmed that substations were damaged and de-energized in several regions of the country.

Ukraine's National Energy Company Ukrenergo intends to revise its plans for the upcoming winter season due to the Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy facilities, Yuriy Boyko, a member of the NEC Supervisory Board said.

Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Galushchenko said that the next winter would be the most difficult one in the history of Ukraine. According to him, the country has lost half of its generating capacity. Electricity imports will not be enough to survive the cold season, he said. Rolling blackouts may last for another two or three years. Therefore, the Ukrainian energy system will be restored only in 2027-2028.

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Kharkiv also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest city in Ukraine. Located in the northeast of the country, it is the largest city of the historic region of Sloboda Ukraine. Kharkiv is the administrative centre of Kharkiv Oblast and Kharkiv Raion. It has a population of 1,421,125 (2022 estimate).