In the bitterly cold Ukraine, attacks on power plant sites now occur regularlypublished at 08:12 Greenwich Mean Time

08:12 GMT

Will Vernon
Reporting from Kyiv

image source, Getty Images

It is bitterly cold this Christmas morning in Ukraine and we are already receiving reports of power outages in several regions as authorities try to limit the fallout from the large-scale attack.

Strikes against power plants are commonplace in Ukraine. In September, President Zelensky said 80% of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure had been destroyed by Russian bombs. Since then the shelling has not let up.

Repair crews worked under pressure – and under fire – to keep the country’s lights on. Last week, on National Energy Workers’ Day, Zelensky thanked Ukrainians “who work to bring light and warmth to our homes.”

He promised to restore the damaged facilities. “But all of this is just the superstructure,” the president continued, “the foundation is the daily heroism of people like you, your colleagues and the entire energy sector. We are proud of you.”

And Ukraine is developing innovative solutions to deal with the onslaught.

A state-owned company plans to build an underground hydroelectric power plant to protect it from missiles and drones. Other companies are working on groundbreaking energy storage devices that can also be protected from the air.

But that takes time. In the short term, President Zelensky said Ukraine urgently needs 10 to 12 additional “Patriot” air defense systems to protect its cities – and its power grid – from Russian attacks.

So far, Western countries have promised to provide significantly less.