German Galushchenko: russia’s attack on 22 March caused the greatest damage to the energy infrastructure of Kharkiv region during the war

During a working visit to Kharkiv region, Minister of Energy German Galushchenko inspected the region’s energy facilities, which suffered the greatest damage after a massive enemy attack on 22 March.

Rescuers and power engineers of the region continue to dismantle the rubble, and a final assessment of the damage will be made upon completion.

“This is the largest scale of destruction that Kharkiv and Kharkiv region have ever seen, even compared to 2022-2023. There is extensive damage to power generation and transmission facilities. The relevant services are working 24/7 to clear the rubble and gain access to the equipment. After that, we will understand whether the equipment is subject to repair or whether it is necessary to order new equipment,” said the head of the Ministry of Energy at a briefing.

German Galushchenko noted that Ukraine already had experience of cooperation with international partners and energy equipment manufacturers to order and manufacture the equipment needed to restore the facilities. At the same time, he noted that this was a complex process, as large power equipment required a long production time.

The Minister of Energy noted that Ukraine had developed a number of mechanisms for cooperation with international partners to provide assistance to the energy sector. One of them is the Ukraine Energy Support Fund, which was established in the spring of 2022 at the joint initiative of German Galushchenko and European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson. Donor funds contributed to the Fund are used to purchase equipment. It is used by Ukrainian power engineers for repairs and recovery after enemy attacks.

“Today, the Fund has more than EUR 40 million available to overcome the consequences of this attack, which will be used to purchase the necessary equipment. In addition, assistance in the form of equipment is constantly coming in,” the Minister stressed.

In turn, the Head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration Oleh Syniehubov stressed that the authorities and power engineers were doing all they could to ensure that the next heating season in Kharkiv and the region starts on time and goes according to plan.

“We have to think about the restoration of CHPP-5, but it will take years. It won’t happen tomorrow, or in a month or two, because the damage is quite serious. And along with the restoration of large generating facilities, we need to think about an alternative. We have to implement a number of relevant projects before the next winter heating season,” said the head of the region.

According to him, the situation with power supply in the region has now been stabilised, critical infrastructure has been powered up, and the restoration of power to household consumers in Kharkiv and 17 settlements of the region is carried out according to the schedule.