This was stated by Ivan Plachkov, former Ukraine's Minister of Energy, Chairman of the Board of the All-Ukrainian Energy Assembly, on Espreso TV channel.
"The government and leadership of Ukraine should definitely organize another energy "Ramstein" so that we can get aid from European partners and funds for the energy sector. To stabilize the situation and more or less prepare for the next heating season, we need at least UAH 50 billion. And we need about UAH 100 billion to restore the equipment. Ukraine needs these funds now. We also need to ensure the protection of energy infrastructure facilities with air defense systems, as the situation is critical," Plachkov said.
Russians want to destroy Ukraine's energy system and create a large-scale blackout across the country, says former Energy Minister.
"Missile attacks on infrastructure have been going on for three years. Unfortunately, we have lost a lot of energy facilities. The latest missile attacks destroyed a large amount of equipment. This includes generation, thermal power plants, substations, networks, and there is a shortage of generation," he said.
Today, Ukraine needs to mobilize all resources and restore generation as much as possible, Plachkov said.
"We buy electricity from European countries and receive it as technical assistance. But the situation may worsen when consumption increases. Our partners will help, but we need to mobilize all resources, both human, organizational and financial. We have to pay 100% for the electricity consumed, pay off debts as much as possible, save electricity, prepare for long-term and short-term blackouts, etc. The energy sector does not have the funds to restore such a large amount of equipment. It is necessary to restore generation as much as possible to be able to produce our own electricity, because the situation is very difficult," added the Chairman of the Board of the All-Ukrainian Energy Assembly.
Ukraine's Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said that the purpose of Russia's strike on Ukraine on March 22 was to completely blackout the country, and that the damage to the energy sector could amount to billions of hryvnias.