Ukraine’s supplies of spare parts for its battered electricity grid are running out amid sustained Russian bombing, and European companies are being asked to urgently donate surplus kit to help the country get through the winter.
There were power cuts lasting 48 hours or more across the country last week after a fresh wave of Russian missile attacks, the latest step in a wave of bombings targeting power plants and substations which route energy around the network.
The emergency response to get spare parts to Ukraine is being coordinated by Energy Community, a European trade body, to head off a concerted Russian attempt to fragment Ukraine’s grid “into small isolated units” by obliterating its electricity substations.
Although 37 shipments have already been organised it is unclear if enough kit is available to keep Ukraine’s lights on, prompting a call for more donations and heightened concern among the country’s western allies. The warning came as ministers from Nato member countries met for a two-day meeting in Bucharest, Romania, where it is likely the 30-nation alliance will make fresh pledges of non-lethal support to Ukraine
Credit: theguardian.com
