Blinken says Ukrainians will face a 'difficult winter' amid collapsing energy infrastructure.
Russia began attacking Ukrainian infrastructure on October 10, two days after the attack on the Crimean bridge.
WASHINGTON, December 27 (Sputnik) - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken predicted on Tuesday (27) a "difficult winter" for Ukrainians, as the country struggles with the consequences of the collapse of its energy infrastructure amid Russia's special military operation.
"We will stand with Ukraine for as long as necessary. A difficult winter is coming for Ukrainians, and we will work tirelessly with the G7 and other partners to repair, replace, and defend Ukraine's energy infrastructure," Blinken said in a tweet.
In November, the United States announced a $53 million assistance package to help restore Ukrainian power infrastructure, including distribution transformers, circuit breakers, surge arresters, disconnectors, and vehicles.
Russia began attacking Ukrainian infrastructure on October 10, two days after the Crimean bridge attack. The attacks targeted Ukraine's energy, defense industry, military command, and communications facilities. In mid-November, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that nearly half of the country's power grid was out of service.
More than 700 vital infrastructure facilities have been damaged in Ukraine since February 24, says Ministry.
MOSCOW, December 27 (Sputnik) - More than 700 critical infrastructure facilities have been damaged in Ukraine since the start of the Russian military operation, Ukrainian First Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Yevhenii Yenin said on Tuesday.
"In total, we have information on more than 35.000 facilities damaged as a result of Russian attacks. And since the beginning of the invasion, 702 critical infrastructure objects have been damaged," Yenin said in a televised statement.
He added that mainly gas pipelines and power substations were damaged.
On February 24, Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine in response to requests for assistance from the separatist republics of Donetsk and Luhansk. Moscow stated that the objective of its operation was the "demilitarization and denazification" of Ukraine.
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