By Jonathan Landay and Humeyra Pamuk
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Waves of Russian strikes on Ukraine’s electrical grid have did not dim its determination to withstand Moscow, but Washington and its allies need do more to assist the country keep the facility on, a senior U.S. diplomat said on Monday.
“I feel this strategic bombing campaign … has clearly failed in its try to break the need of the Ukrainian population,” Assistant Secretary of State Geoff told Reuters three days after coming back from talks in Kyiv.
Pyatt’s comments got here hours after Russia launched “kamikaze” drones at electrical infrastructure in and across the Ukrainian capital, the most recent in a series of strikes which have left tens of millions without power as temperatures drop below freezing.
The attacks, which began in October as Russia suffered a string of battlefield defeats following its February invasion, have destroyed a minimum of 50%of the country’s power infrastructure, based on the United Nations.
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Washington and its allies have pledged tens of tens of millions of dollars to repair and replace targeted equipment while supplying air defense systems which have helped Ukraine protect critical infrastructure from Russian missiles and drones.
Pyatt, a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine who coordinates support for its electrical infrastructure, said Ukrainians have shown “extraordinary adaptability” by cannibalizing and moving power equipment in addition to protecting transmission stations with earth-filled barriers.
The primary two tranches of apparatus from a $53 million U.S. energy aid package arrived in Ukraine last week, he said, and a few already has been deployed.
“Clearly we’d like to do more,” Pyatt said, noting that U.S. President Joe Biden has asked Congress to approve $1.1 billion to support the energy sectors in Ukraine and neighboring Moldova, which is in search of to interrupt its dependence on Russian natural gas.
Ukraine’s most urgent request, he said, is for equipment to maintain its power grid operating, including transformers that handle “super high voltage” current.
Such transformers, nonetheless, are briefly supply and require long lead times to construct. Those present in the US can’t be adapted to the Ukrainian system, necessitating a worldwide hunt for such equipment.
He spoke last month in Japan with Toshiba Corp and Hitachi Ltd about supplying high-voltage transformers, to “underline for them the priority we place on this effort” and urge them to expedite deliveries, he said.
(Editing by Don Durfee and Cynthia Osterman)
Copyright 2022 Thomson Reuters.
