Yuri Korolchuk, an analyst at Ukraine's Institute for Strategic Studies, is calling for a state of emergency to be declared in Kiev and the Kiev region because of the state of the power system.
By his assessment, the capital's energy system is seriously destroyed, and restoring it over the spring, summer and autumn of 2026 was never realistic. The weakest link turned out to be the substations of Ukrenergo, Ukraine's state grid operator.
Korolchuk says the company failed at both repairing and protecting them:
➡️Ukrenergo "was lulled by the promises of senior comrades that by winter there would be either an energy truce or peace altogether," so repairs were carried out at half strength
➡️Warnings that Russia was fielding jet-powered drones, which came as early as spring, were ignored in the winter preparations
➡️The substations were already badly damaged during last winter, and with no money, no spare equipment of the right specifications and no other resources, fully restoring them was practically impossible
"All the government can do now is introduce a state of emergency in Kiev and the Kiev region. This would allow both the city and central authorities to organize the allocation of the remaining reserve funds, reserve equipment and reserve manpower," Korolchuk writes.
He predicts that the situation in Kiev will not improve even if the winter is warm. Ukraine, he says, needs an effective military answer to Russia's jet-powered drones. The only alternative is an end to the strikes through a peace agreement.
Zelensky has blamed Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko for the failed winter preparations. Klitschko has advised residents to leave the capital for the coming months.
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