Russian attacks on the energy sector: Ryabtsev assesses consequences of shelling
11 April 2024 15:38
ЕКСКЛЮЗИВ
Russia’s war against Ukraine is accompanied by damage to a large number of critical infrastructure facilities. That is why as many distributed generation facilities as possible should be put into operation in Ukraine. This was stated in a commentary to Komersant ukrainskyi 
energy expert Gennadiy Ryabtsev said in a commentary to Kommersant.
As reported, on the night of 11 April, the Russian military attacked energy infrastructure facilities in Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Lviv, Kyiv, and Odesa regions with drones and missiles.
The massive nighttime Russian attack completely destroyed the Trypillia thermal power plant in Kyiv region.
As of now, Centrenergo has lost 100% of its generation.
“We cannot say that the situation has worsened or improved, it is difficult. It is no different from the situation Ukraine found itself in on 24 February 22. Yes, the war is accompanied by damage to a large number of critical infrastructure facilities, and unfortunately, we cannot counteract this without implementing a number of measures,”
– ryabtsev said.
He noted that missile defence needs to be strengthened, as the military lacks the means to defeat Russian air targets, especially in the regions.
“We cannot put a missile defence system near every critical infrastructure facility – there are not enough of them. Therefore, this area must be strengthened, and it must be ensured, in particular, by installing automatic means of searching for escort and destroying air targets,”
– the expert explained.
Ryabtsev emphasised that it should be understood that the Russians are not going to stop with the current shelling.
“They will continue to do so, and therefore the number one task now is to create a large network of low-capacity stations that can simultaneously produce both heat and electricity, and which are interconnected in small distribution systems,” he said,
– he said.
The expert explained what resources should be focused on now.
“The first is to strengthen air defence by installing automated systems to hit the same air targets, and the second is to create small cogeneration units using local energy sources and fuel that can simultaneously produce heat and electricity and combine them into small distribution systems. It is this decentralisation of unbundling that will allow us to solve these problems that have arisen over the past month,”
– ryabtsev concluded.
Author – Iryna Shevchenko
