The latest round of Russian air raids have brought Ukraine’s energy grid to the brink, with officials admitting, and then denying, the severity of the problem.
The head of DTEK, Ukraine’s largest private energy firm, said that five of its six plants had been damaged or destroyed.
80% of the company’s generating capacity is lost, and repairs could take up as much as an year and a half!
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia was carrying out ‘vile strikes’ to ‘bleed’ the Ukrainian energy systems.
DTEK supplies about a quarter of the country’s energy, and has seen its thermal power stations and other facilities repeatedly hit by Russian missiles, drones and artillery.
The old Soviet centralized heating plants may not even get rebuilt, as Ukraine is flooded with decentralized smaller generators.
Last night’s strike (https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2024/04/2/7449272/ ):
“A primary oil refining unit at the (Taneco) refinery in Russia’s city of Nizhnekamsk (which is further from Ukraine than the city of Kazan) was attacked as a result of a joint special operation by Ukraine’s Defence intelligence and the Security Service of Ukraine. The other successful strike in Yelabuga, is even further from Ukraine.
Source: Ukrainska Pravda sources in Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence and Security Service of Ukraine
Details: Ukrainska Pravda source said the Ukrainian long-range drone struck a primary oil refining unit at the refinery in Nizhnekamsk, causing a fire. The capacity of this unit was eight million tonnes of oil, which accounts for 2.6% of Russia’s total annual refining capacity. Additionally, this plant is among the top five largest refineries in Russia.”
Kazan is now in range - from now onwards.
Putin did that.
He is a Master Strategist.