Ukraine’s energy minister, says that the country is bracing for a renewed attack on its energy system but, with no more excess capacity and little in the way of spare equipment, it is much more vulnerable than it was last year. Ukraine’s allies have stumped up money but much is routed via international financial organisations. Their procurement processes for equipment are very slow, he says, so he is asking them for “a martial law approach” to speed things up.The damage inflicted by the Russian campaign to freeze Ukrainians into submission last winter was immense. According to a report by the un Development Programme power-generating capacity in April 2023 was down 51% from just before Russia’s invasion in February 2022. Nuclear power accounts for the largest part of Ukraine’s energy output. Is it time for Ukraine to negotiate with Russia ?
