People in Ukraine are facing a harsh winter due to the energy crisis caused by Russian attacks and need extra help to get through the colder months, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has warned.
“Energy, energy, energy. I’ve never seen such unity everywhere. They’re really concerned about this problem,” Filippo Groot dpa said when describing his impressions of the talks with Ukrainian officials.
Officials are very worried, he said, noting that ordinary people, especially in the eastern Ukrainian metropolis of Kharkiv, are already afraid of being left without heating in the winter.
What is needed is that we “continue to provide support,” Grandi said.
The UN refugee agency has seen a slight increase in the number of refugees over the past two to three months, especially after the devastating Russian missile attacks on Ukrainian power plants.
“They are afraid that they will be without power for the winter – or even the entire hot season,” Grandi said.
For this reason, the electricity crisis, rather than the military strikes, was seen as the main reason for Ukrainians to seek refuge abroad.
Russian missile and drone attacks have destroyed more than nine gigawatts of power plant capacity since March, causing hours-long power outages across the country since May.