OUR Ukraine manage to produce so many energy as much as he needs, despite the severe damage caused by Russian attacks on its power grid, Prime Minister Denis Shmihal said Friday.

Schmichal said at a press conference just over a year after invasion of Russia that 40-50% of Ukraine’s power grid was hit by a wave of rocket attacks and drone bombings over the winter.

Although millions of people were left without electricity, Ukraine quickly restored it with the help of equipment provided by the allies.

“Ukraine is currently provided with electricity provided by generators and network capacities,” Shmigal said. “The next stage is to provide the network infrastructure for the new heating season.”

According to the Ukrainian prime minister, the measures will include the construction of underground concrete shelters to protect the electricity infrastructure and distribution networks from possible new attacks.

Since October, Russia has been launching missile and drone strikes on power grids and substations across the country, hitting heavy industry hard, shrinking Ukraine’s economy by a third last year.

Schmichal, who has been prime minister since March 2020, has vowed to focus on quick recovery measures this year. Demining reclaimed land, restoring homes and critical infrastructure will be key, he said.

Ukraine is hoping to secure $17 billion in funding from Western partners to help with these steps, in addition to the $38 billion requested to cover the budget deficit.

Smyhal said that Ukraine would continue reforms to cope with the challenges of the war and would not make personnel changes anytime soon, although he said the government was somehow planning to reduce the number of ministries from 20 to 15-16.

“We have a vision for how the cabinet should evolve, modernize and address the challenges of future reshuffles,” Schmihal said.

EU leaders accepted Ukraine as a candidate for membership last year, and Kyiv also wants to join the NATO military alliance.

“We don’t have enough open doors. We are waiting for concrete decisions from our partners,” Schmikhal said about NATO, referring to the prospect of his country joining this organization.

^{Source: APE-MEB, Reuters}