“The situation in Kyiv is extremely difficult because the high-voltage lines feeding the city aren’t designed to carry its full load, especially in freezing weather,” Kharchenko said.
“Even if there were no damage [to power lines] and all the necessary generation capacity was available outside the city, there would still be major technical hurdles.”
After a Feb. 7 Russian strike on Ukraine’s infrastructure, the Energy Ministry described the power system as “extremely difficult,” with a large deficit that is very hard to cover.
A massive Feb. 3 Russian attack severely damaged Kyiv’s CHP-4
(combined heat and power) plant, which supplies heat to about 300,000
households. The plant has been offline since the strike. Mayor Vitali Klitschko
said repairs could take several months.