UN warns of Ukraine’s harshest winter since 2022
Kyiv • UNN
The UN warned of the risk of a humanitarian catastrophe due to Russian strikes on energy infrastructure. Ukraine is rushing to restore the grid before the cold weather.
Ukraine is entering the "harshest winter" since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. This was said in an interview with the BBC by Alexander De Croo, head of the UN Development Agency, UNN reports.
Details
According to him, there is currently a risk of a "humanitarian catastrophe" if Russian attacks cut off access to electricity and water. The official stressed that there is now a "race against time" to repair the power grid before winter arrives and temperatures fall.
This winter will be the hardest since the beginning of the war
He added that Ukraine began this winter "from a very weak starting point," and that the UN is "very, very concerned about what this winter could become."
This concern is driven by the fact that, according to De Croo, Russia is attacking civilian and energy infrastructure "very systematically."
"These are gas stations, shopping centers, business centers, but especially energy infrastructure, power lines, and so on. There are absolutely no justifications for this. ... At such temperatures, circumstances here could arise that would be close to a humanitarian catastrophe," the UN representative added.
Recall
Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi stated that this year’s winter would be no less difficult than last year’s, but that Ukraine is prepared for it.