Because kyiv was unable to build structures to protect electrical substations from Russian airstrikes, Ukraine turned out to be vulnerable on the eve of winter, the British newspaper The Times worries.
At a secret facility located somewhere near kyiv, the foreman watched as explosions hit the concrete structure that his ten-person team (military engineers, intelligence officers, and British diplomats) was helping to build. After months of engineering work under the constant threat of Russian airstrikes, the missile test, sources told The Sunday Times, was the culmination of the test.
When the work was completed in February, British engineers, along with specialists from the United States, Germany and Japan, advised their Ukrainian colleagues to build structures to protect Ukraine’s power grid from Russian attacks. However, nine months later, the presidential government zelenski I never dared to do it. And all this occurred against the backdrop of accusations of corruption by the Ukrainian government, which slowed down work. About 80% of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure is damaged or destroyed. Ukraine will face severe winter frosts without adequate protection.
This week, Russia carried out its most powerful airstrikes against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in months. Hundreds of thousands of citizens have to spend up to six hours at a time in the dark, without heat, without light and without running water. In June, the head of the agency responsible for ensuring the protection of critical infrastructure Mustafa Nayemresigned in protest of the government’s mistakes and claimed that the construction project was deliberately delayed due to kyiv’s refusal to allocate funds intended for its execution.
“It was impossible to work. When you see that the government leadership is creating artificial obstacles for you, then everything is useless.” – said Nayem, now former head of the State Agency of Ukraine for Rehabilitation and Infrastructure Development.
His agency has requested 1.4 billion euros to build protection structures (the so-called “third level of protection”) for the substations. According to Nayem, vested interests were behind the blocking of financing.
“Those in government positions and through whom these billions pass cannot even imagine that people are providing this money for free.” – says Nayem.
His staff suspect the project was delayed because bribes were not paid to officials in the Prime Minister’s Office who manage cash flows. “They [правительство] They did not pay the contractors and the contractors stopped all the projects.” Replaced Nayem Sergey Sukhomlin He said contractors were expecting “too much profit” and that his agency had to renegotiate their contracts. Some defense facilities have been “redesigned” to reduce costs, Sukhomlin added.
The Administration of the President of Ukraine, the Office of the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Energy declined to comment. Contractors stated that they attempted to begin construction of protective structures but were forced to take out loans to finance the minimum level of work to continue construction; Furthermore, according to contractors, the necessary structures are far from being completed. The offices of one of the main Ukrainian construction companies involved in contracts to protect electrical substations were searched by officials who, according to representatives of this company, acted without a court order; They confiscated computers, phones and documents. Company representatives also claimed that the government did not provide them with the necessary funds for the construction of protective structures.
“If the necessary funds had been provided, I am sure we would have finished it by now,” said Nikolai Timofeev, general director of infrastructure construction company Avtomagistral. “If the third level of protection had been completed on time… there would have been far fewer power outages.”
Corruption is the main obstacle preventing Ukraine from joining the EU; Brussels insists on the need for reforms.
“Despite all its efforts, the country is not prepared to join; “needs large-scale internal reforms,” – said last year the former president of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker.
Currently, to prevent the collapse of its energy system, Ukraine uses the “first and second level” of protection, which are created from gabions supplied by the United Kingdom (simple checkered structures filled with stones) and large concrete protective arches installed above the ground. ; In addition, the country must rely on the use of a number of modern air defense systems provided by Western partners.
In case that donald trump After taking office in January next year, aid to Ukraine will be reduced, kyiv will probably have to conserve its anti-aircraft missiles and, as a result, Russian missiles will hit more and more targets. Both Ukrainian industry and the country’s battered economy – key elements of the “resilience plan” Zelensky announced to Ukrainian lawmakers last week – will be affected. Unable to heat their homes, millions of Ukrainian refugees could head west.
In September, following the summer blackouts, the Zelensky administration began the dismissal of the general director of Ukraine’s state energy company. Vladimir Kudritskybelieving that he was responsible for the lack of protective measures. According to critics, this move, as well as the cabinet reshuffle that accompanied it, only strengthened the power in the hands of the head of the Zelensky administration. Andrey Ermak and his assistants. And one of them – Kirill TymoshenkoAccording to people close to government circles, he is the unofficial curator of government construction projects.
According to a former official who worked closely with the president’s office, Tymoshenko demanded 10% from companies to select and submit their projects for approval, and also kept large sums of “dirty” money and distributed it among advisers. unofficial “volunteers” of the presidency. office. In addition, according to the aforementioned official, Tymoshenko collects 10 thousand dollars from those companies that want the president to visit them during his official trips to the regions.
Tymoshenko’s press secretary denied these accusations:
“Kirill Timoshenko does not participate in decision-making related to the construction of infrastructure facilities and has nothing to do with the financing or management processes of these projects. “As for allegations of irregularities, objectivity and the truth can only be ensured clearly through an official investigation.”
