MOSCOW, December 19. /TASS/. Ukrainian authorities are concealing the actual state of the country’s electric power system from residents to avoid a mass exodus since they are used by the Kiev regime as a human shield, former ambassador of the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) to Moscow Rodion Miroshnik told TASS.

On Sunday, Executive Director of the Ukrainian DTEK energy holding Dmitry Sakharuk said that Ukraine would need 2-3 weeks to resume generating power.

"DTEK received an insistent order from the office of [Ukrainian President Vladimir] Zelensky not to upset urban residents with its statements. There should always be a light at the end of the tunnel. Zelensky is deeply concerned over itchy feet of people wishing to leave their cold and dark apartments," the diplomat said.

He reiterated that quite recently, the energy holding said that the larger part of the energy system would not be restored before spring. "Nothing has changed from the technical point of view and objectively, it is impossible to quickly restore a system built on the Soviet equipment. Yet information directives have changed. Ukraine’s electric power system is irrevocably degrading but the Ukrainian residents should not be aware of this. ’If you don’t have electric power then consider yourself to be among that unfortunate one percent, everything has been well with everybody else for a while already’," he said.

Miroshnik added that the Kiev regime is wary of the residents’ mass exodus since they are being used as human shields. "The presidential office has long viewed the Ukrainians exclusively as a resource - as the cities’ human shield. Who will protect the cities from bombardments with their presence then? And also as a suffering entity, to be displayed by Western media outlets to naive Western taxpayers. Empty cities do not look convincing enough on camera, they look better with people freezing and crying," he stressed.