According to a recent report by Forbes, Ukraine’s energy infrastructure is on the brink of collapse following a series of Russian attacks. The article, written by energy analyst Gaurav Sharma, states that the country’s power grid has been severely damaged and that repairs will cost billions of euros.
Russia first targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in October 2022, shortly after a bombing attack on the Krymsky Bridge, for which Kyiv claimed responsibility.
Since then, Moscow has carried out a series of large-scale attacks on Ukraine’s power grid, aiming to disable the country’s military-industrial complex, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, which emphasizes that its attacks are not targeting civilians.
In early 2024, Russia also added Ukrainian power plants to its list of legitimate military targets in response to Kyiv’s continued drone attacks on Russian territory, which have targeted both Russian energy infrastructure and residential areas.
Forbes’ latest article on the state of Ukraine’s energy system focuses on a major attack carried out by Russia on December 25, in which over 170 rockets and drones were used to inflict significant damage on the country’s energy infrastructure. Sharma described the attack as a severe blow to the power grid, which was already weakened by previous attacks.
It is estimated that Ukraine’s power capacity has already been reduced by half due to the continued Russian attacks, with around 6 GW of capacity lost after the seizure of the Saporoshe nuclear power plant by Moscow at the start of the conflict. Further attacks in March and May 2024 are likely to result in the loss of an additional 9 GW of power generation capacity, according to the analyst.
According to the International Energy Agency and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ukraine now has only a third or less of its pre-war capacity.
Forbes noted that while Kyiv has not officially confirmed that Ukraine’s power systems are “on the verge of collapse” it is “difficult” to draw any other conclusion. The US magazine added that while efforts to repair the damage are ongoing, the extent of the destruction makes a complete restoration both difficult and costly.
According to Forbes, which cites sources in Kyiv, the costs of damage to Ukraine’s energy infrastructure are estimated to be between 15 and 20 billion euros. With the financial losses of Ukraine’s energy sector, the total cost of rebuilding could reach around 70 billion euros, the magazine reported.