MOSCOW, April 4. /TASS/. Mikhail Podolyak, an adviser to the chief of staff of the Ukrainian president's office, has said that the country's energy system suffered major damage.
"The damage is extremely big because the Kanevskaya HPP, the Dneproges, the Zmiyevskaya TPP have been affected," he said in an interview with the Deutsche Welle media group (designated in Russia as a foreign media agent).
Podolyak said almost 80% of heat generation in Kharkov had been wiped out. According to the official, Ukraine needs assistance from Western partners to make up for the damage to the power system.
On 3 April, the DTEK energy holding company, which was founded by Ukraine's richest businessman Rinat Akhmetov, described the situation in the energy system as extremely difficult. The company said that after the strikes on March 22 and 29, it lost 80% of its generating capacity, and five out of its six thermal power plants were seriously damaged.
On March 22 and 29, the Russian Defense Ministry said it delivered strikes, some of which employed high-precision weapons, on Ukraine's energy, air defense and defense industry sites. Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko said damage was done to the country’s generation facilities, electricity transmission and distribution grids. Some regions introduced schedules for power cuts.