Maksym Timchenko, the executive of Ukraine’s largest private energy company DTEK, has said that delays in security assistance have weakened his country’s ability to counter Russian attacks on energy facilities, according to the US-based think tank.
Speaking in an interview with the Financial Times, Timchenko said that Ukraine was initially prepared to protect its energy infrastructure, but in recent weeks more Russian drones and missiles have reached their targets.
Timchenko said in the interview, which was published on Sunday, that Russian forces have targeted Ukrainian energy infrastructure 160 times so far this year and that more than 1 million households and businesses have suffered from blackouts, the ISW reported.
Russian forces launched several massive strike series against Ukraine in December, January and February, "likely forcing Ukrainian forces to expend a significant number of interceptors," the ISW said in its latest analysis of Russia's military campaign in Ukraine.
It cited Ukrainian officials as saying that their country was facing a “critical shortage” of air defense missiles.
Timchenko told the Financial Times that Ukraine’s economy depends on the stability of its energy infrastructure, and that any major malfunctions in the energy grid could significantly disrupt ongoing Ukrainian efforts to expand its defense industrial base.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, starting the largest armed conflict in Europe since World War II.
Monday is day 740 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
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Source: IAR, PAP, understandingwar.org