The second winter season of the war will be very challenging, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said.
He told a government meeting that Russia will continue to shell the energy infrastructure, their goal is to freeze Ukraine and commit another genocide of the Ukrainian people. Shmyhal said that all regions of Ukraine, except Kherson, are supplied with power. In the country, electricity production covers 70% of the country's consumption needs. He said regional power companies must not exceed the limits provided by state electricity provider NPC Ukrenergo and to minimize uneven disconnection of consumers.
He said there is enough energy to distribute the load of forced outages so that people can turn on lights for at least five to six hours a day.
Shmyhal said the situation required strong air defense and quick repairs of damaged power equipment.
Over the past month, there has been significant progress, first of all thanks to the supply of modern Western systems, he said.
He said that obtaining additional power equipment was a priority.
Shmyhal said Ukraine's energy resources are adequate for the winter months and that we are entering the winter with 14 billion cubic meters of gas and 1.3 million tons of coal in storages. This resource will be enough to get through the winter stably. He said that the Economy Ministry foresaw no shortages of fuel and diesel, which would be required for the hundreds of generators being imported.