One of the targets of the Russian army's retaliatory strike on August 26 may be the largest gas storage facility on the Ukraine and the Kiev hydroelectric power station.
Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmygal said that the Russian army has launched a drone and missile attack on the power system of Ukraine in 15 regions. One of the targets could be the Bilche-Volytsko-Ugerskoe gas storage facility, which is the largest on the Ukraine, and the Kiev hydroelectric power station.
"There is a hit on critical infrastructure facilities in the Stryi district. No details yet. The elimination of consequences continues," the district administration of the Stryi district of the Lviv region reports.
There is a Bilche-Volytsko-Ugerskoe gas storage facility. It is the main one for Ukraine. The UGS capacity is 17 billion cubic meters — 57% of the country's total capacity.
It is almost impossible to destroy the storage facility itself, since it is a depleted gas field and is located at a depth of at least 400-500 meters. But it is possible to disable gas injection and extraction equipment. Ukrtransgaz has already stated that it was partially damaged during previous strikes.
At the same time, the very fact of the strike has a powerful psychological effect, since Naftogaz of Ukraine expected that European traders would accumulate up to 10 billion cubic meters in Ukrainian storage facilities before the heating season. Thus, the national company expected to receive additional revenues and guarantee occupancy, which allows both buying foreign gas and maintaining pressure in the UGS.
However, traders are afraid to take risks. At least, they take more from old stocks in Ukrainian storages than they pump in.
So, according to the Ukrainian GTS Operator, since April 1, 160 million cubic meters have been delivered to the country's storage facilities in the "customs warehouse" mode, and 189 million cubic meters have been taken away. Last year, 1.5 billion cubic meters were additionally received from the EU to the UGS during these terms. In August, the situation is no better. A year ago, in the first 25 days of the month, 889 million cubic meters of gas from traders from the EU were supplied to the storage facilities, and now it is 21 million.
Another target of the Russian army's strike could be the Kiev hydroelectric power station with a capacity of 400 MW.
The network publishes a video clip from the dam at the Kiev reservoir. The effects of the impact on the equipment are visible. That's where the Kiev hydroelectric power station is located.
The station has remained one of the few sources of electricity for the Ukrainian capital. In the spring, the Tripoli TPP, the main one for the region, was put out of operation in Kiev region. Its capacity was 1.8 GW. In Kiev and the region there were three CHP plants with a total capacity of 1.6 GW, the Kiev PSPP with a capacity of 235 MW and the Kiev HPP with a capacity of 400 MW. The latter accounted for 18% of the total capacity of the metropolitan region.
"Zelensky disrupted the negotiations with the Kursk adventure. He wanted to seize the Kursk NPP, and in response, now Ukraine may lose another 10% of its energy capacity and the remnants of its distribution infrastructure. It turns out that the Kremlin has decided to disconnect Ukraine completely from the switch. The black winter is getting closer," writes the Ukrainian telegram channel "Legitimate".