– For several weeks now, the Russians have been attacking electricity and heating plants in particular. The water, heat and fuel pumps are in operation. It will be so cold in some of these cities that we have to expect a bigger wave of refugees in the future, he tells Dagbladet.
In recent weeks there have been several attacks on infrastructure in Ukraine. It could appear that the country’s power grid is about to be completely decommissioned and almost completely destroyed over time, Karlsen believes.
– The attacks will continue as long as the Russians have Iranian missiles and drones. More air defenses may help Ukraine, but there will never be a one hundred percent stop to all attacks. The destruction is also so great that there will be persistent long-term power problems whether or not they can stop the bombing, she says.
– Long way to go to the end
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote some time ago on his Telegram channel that the current phase of the war is the beginning of the end. Karlsen takes it differently.
– I think, unfortunately, that there is still a long way to go to the end. The conflict started in 2014 and not now in February, so worst case scenario you could be exposed to conflict for several years to come.
– Cause for greater concern
It also does not ignore the fact that the Russians will mobilize further in the future. However, Karlsen believes there is a limit to what the Russians can achieve.
– When it freezes, winter comes and it becomes easier to get off the roads, so we must not ignore the new Ukrainian offensives. I doubt the Russians are capable of doing much.
– The worst winter since the war
The Ukrainian state network operator Ukrenergo illuminated on Tuesday that virtually all of the country’s thermal and hydroelectric plants were damaged after a series of rocket attacks.
In front of the German newspaper Image Klitschko refers to this winter as “the worst winter since World War II” and says Kiev has not experienced such a “winter of horror” since then.
– We have to prepare for the worst-case scenario: a large power outage and even lower temperatures. So parts of the city would have to be evacuated, but we don’t want it to go that far, she says.
“Severely Compromised”
On Telegram, he says three people will be killed as a result of today’s attack and eleven people will be injured.
– More intense attack
Several attacks were also reported over the weekend near the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, some of them near the reactors.
Russians blame Ukraine for the attacks and vice versa. It is not yet clear who is actually behind it, whether it is one side or both.
The director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Mariano Grossi, describes this weekend’s attack as one of the most intense in recent months.
– Once again we were lucky that there was no potentially serious nuclear accident. Next time we may not be so lucky. We must do everything possible to ensure that there is no “next time,” Grossi said in a statement on Sunday.
