First Vice Prime Minister - Minister of Energy Denys Shmyhal stated that Russia's goal now is to destroy water supply in Ukraine, and added that "it is hard to survive more than three days without water and sewage," reports UNN citing POLITICO.
Details
In an interview with POLITICO, Shmyhal stated that Ukraine and Russia are engaged in a fierce struggle to destroy each other's energy systems — a campaign that will determine any future peace negotiations.
"Putin wants to finish off our energy system and undermine our economy and weapons production," Shmyhal said. "He also hopes that in winter our society will break from exhaustion and pressure the leadership to sign a capitulation."
The publication notes that Ukraine responds with massive strikes on Russian oil refineries, which have put out of commission about 40 percent of primary oil refining capacities in Russia and created fuel shortages across the country.
"It's like the 12th round, and every boxer hopes that his opponent will fall first," Shmyhal said.
The Minister of Energy added that Kyiv hopes its strikes, as well as allied sanctions, will pressure Russian dictator Vladimir Putin to end the war this fall. If that fails, Ukraine faces another winter of attacks from Russia on its energy infrastructure — a repeat of last year's campaign that plunged Ukrainian cities into icy darkness.
"Russia's goal now is to destroy our water supply sources. Last winter they attacked power grids and heating, but it was possible to survive if there was gas and water during power outages," Shmyhal said. "It is hard to survive more than three days without water and sewage."
Let us add
To survive the winter, Ukraine needs PAC-3 interceptors for Patriot air defense systems, capable of shooting down Russian ballistic missiles. President Volodymyr Zelensky has spoken of a goal of 300 interceptors. However, US stocks are low due to the war with Iran; now Kyiv and its allies are pressuring countries like Spain and Greece to transfer their PAC-3s to Ukraine.
On Monday, Zelensky emphasized that Ukraine's ongoing campaign against Russia, along with strengthened sanctions, is a priority, and expressed hope that this "will leave Russia no choice but peace."
"But we clearly understand who we are dealing with, and that Putin hopes to drag out this war," he said, warning of a possible "winter energy war."