In response to Russian military forces‘ frequent missile attacks on Ukraine, the United States has announced intentions to provide the country $53 million to help restore its energy infrastructure.
In a meeting with NATO allies and Group of Seven members on Tuesday, November 29,2022, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that the most recent equipment would be sent urgently to help Ukrainians survive the upcoming winter.
In the attack on Ukraine’s infrastructure, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg claimed that Russia and its President Vladimir Putin were “depriving millions of basic human services” by using winter as a weapon of war.
He added that the members of the alliance would “stand by Ukraine as long as it takes.”
Russian forces have targeted aerial missile attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure as Moscow’s war against Ukraine enters its tenth month, leading to the latest supply package from the U.S. which includes vital equipment such as distribution transformers, circuit breakers, surge arresters, disconnectors, and vehicles.
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, 40% of the country’s civilian infrastructure has been damaged by Russian attacks, sending the country into an energy crisis just as winter season is approaching.
According to the Energy Ministry of Ukraine, Russia’s air strikes on the country’s energy infrastructure caused temporary power outages at power plants and the loss of electricity for citizens across the whole nation.
“We realize that it is extremely important that President Putin is not able to win in Ukraine. That will be a tragedy for Ukraine, but it will also make the world more dangerous and much more vulnerable,” he said.
Following a similar investment the United States Agency for International Development announced in October, the additional assistance included $55 million to support repairs and maintenance of equipment such as generators and pipes that were damaged or destroyed by Russia’s attacks in an effort to restore heat to residential areas, homes and business in the country.
“We will continue to identify additional support with allies and partners, and we are also helping to devise long-term solutions for grid restoration and repair, along with our assistance for Ukraine’s effort to advance the energy transition and build an energy system decoupled from Russian energy,” the State Department said in a statement.
Dmytro Kuleba, the Foreign Minister of Ukraine, stated that Ukraine needs more air defense systems in order to “break this vicious cycle” of Russian crews continually destroying infrastructure and Ukrainian workers constantly repairing them.
“We are fighting against a terrorist state,” Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said. “Ukraine will prevail and will bring the war criminals to justice.”
Author- Roberta Appiah
