The russians plan to continue their attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure this winter, so continued international support for Ukraine’s energy sector is crucial.

This was underlined by Minister of Energy of Ukraine German Galushchenko in an interview with Bloomberg.

The Energy Minister said that during his visit to Washington he held a number of important meetings at the U.S. Department of State, the Senate and the Department of Energy.

“In all meetings we talk about the fact that Ukraine is not just fighting a war with russia, but is fighting for democracy and values. We discuss support for the energy sector,” he said.

According to the Minister, this year, in preparation for the cold season, the largest repair campaign in the history of Ukraine was carried out on energy facilities, as the enemy destroyed many of them, including power generation and transmission facilities. He also stressed that the best mechanism to protect the energy infrastructure was to strengthen the country’s air defence.

“This year we have better air defence than last year. We are getting more modern systems from our partners, especially from the U.S. and some European countries. But we need more. Air defence systems are the best way to protect energy infrastructure. We need to protect the country’s energy sector as it is the backbone of Ukraine’s economy,” said German Galushchenko.