According to Ukraine’s Energy Minister Herman Shmyhal, Russia attacked energy facilities in Ukraine 18 times within 24 hours. The Ministry of Energy of Ukraine announced this on Facebook, according to the news outlet ukrinform.de.
Shmyhal reportedly spoke after a conversation with Katarina Reiche, which took place following the agreements between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. The talks focused in particular on additional support for Ukraine’s energy sector. Shmyhal stressed that the partners’ aid is currently crucial because Russia is systematically destroying Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
“Our priorities are: replenishing reserves of energy equipment and strengthening protection, in particular of high-voltage lines across the Dnipro,” Shmyhal said, according to Ukrinform. They had agreed on financial support from partners for the procurement of goods for repair work. Ukraine also expects the delivery of transformers, turbines and generators, which are produced by German manufacturers, among others.
It was also agreed to coordinate diplomatic efforts to increase pressure on Russia over the latest attack on a substation that is important for the operation of the Khmelnytskyi nuclear power plant. Shmyhal thanked Reiche and the German government for their “clear and consistent stance” in supporting Ukraine and its energy resilience.
Already on Friday, 6 November, Zelensky had warned of a new major wave of attacks in his evening address, according to the Kyiv Independent. Intelligence information indicated that Russia was preparing a large-scale attack on energy infrastructure, the bridges over the Dnipro and civilian infrastructure. On Saturday, 7 November, Zelensky said, according to the Kyiv Independent, that substations had been damaged in the Kyiv, Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, Rivne, Kharkiv and Dnipro regions.
