The head of the national energy company Ukrenergo, Volodymyr Kudrytskyy, has said in an interview with Radio Liberty that Ukraine's energy facilities will have three tiers of protection in the form of engineering fortifications in case of Russian attacks.
"The first level is really simple protection against blast waves and debris. These are mostly sand-filled big bags or gabions, or some other simple structures that protect against indirect hits from either a rocket or a Shahed. The second level is protection against direct hits from Shaheds. And the third level is the most complex and the most large-scale design - it is a comprehensive defence against Shahed and missiles," Kudrytskyy said.
According to him, the first level of protection in the form of sandbags is the basic one left over from last winter, and as for the second and third levels of protection, Kudrytskyy said, "these works are being actively carried out now".
When asked when the construction of these structures could be completed, he suggested that it could be in November, "we should be able to do it before the cold weather".
"We cannot fully, 100% protect ourselves from massive missile or drone attacks. But what can we do? We can reduce this risk to a manageable level. What is really important? It is important that the power system survives the winter. It is important that the speed at which the enemy destroys the power system does not exceed or does not greatly exceed the speed at which we restore it. Then the situation is under control," Kudrytskyy said.
Earlier, the head of the Defence Ministry's Main Intelligence Directorate, Kyrylo Budanov, said that Ukraine would again face a battle for electricity. Russia has restored some missile stocks.