German’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock speaks to Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko during official visit to a thermal power plant that was destroyed by a Russian rocket attack in Ukraine on Tuesday, May 21, 2024.
With no end in sight to the attacks on the power grid and without a way to adequately defend against them, there are no quick fixes to the electricity shortages, Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko explained. Ukraine is appealing to Western allies for more air defense systems and spare parts to fix its Soviet-era plants.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock joined him on the plant visit, underscoring Ukraine’s desperation to close the power gap as quickly as possible. The April 11 attack on the plant destroyed generators, transformers and turbines—every necessary part to generate electricity, said Yevhen Harkavyi, the technical director of Centerenergo, which operates the plant.