Ukraine’s government is advising refugees living abroad not to return until the spring amid mounting fears over whether the country’s damaged energy infrastructure can cope with demand this winter.
The energy crisis comes as officials in Kyiv warned that the coming winter may herald the heaviest fighting of the war, around the southern city of Kherson where Russian forces have been digging in.
With a third of the country’s energy sector compromised by recent Russian missile and drone attacks Ukraine’s deputy prime minister Iryna Vereshchuk warned: “The networks will not cope. You see what Russia is doing. We need to survive the winter,” she added. The warning was delivered after a period in which, polling suggested, more Ukrainian refugees had expressed a desire to return home.
Vereshchuk said that although she would like Ukrainians to return in the spring, it was important to refrain from returning for now because “the situation will only get worse. If it is possible, stay abroad for the time being”. Ukrainians have already been asked to be sparing in their use of electricity to balance the country’s struggling electricity grid.
Credit: theguardian.com
