Energy truce: can Kyiv avoid humanitarian collapse?
Фото: Reuters
US President Donald Trump has asked Russian dictator Vladimir Putin to refrain from attacking Ukrainian energy systems for the next week. Such a pause is critically needed due to extreme cold and the threat of humanitarian collapse in Kyiv.
Military analyst Oleksiy Hetman spoke about this on the air of “Pryamoy”.
According to him, the situation in Kyiv is already critical due to prolonged heat and water outages, and the townspeople are forced to live in temporary shelters.
“We see that many people are already living in tents, there are problems with the sewage system. When there is no heat at all and no water, then in such frost it is not on the verge, this is a humanitarian catastrophe,” Hetman noted.
He emphasized that the lack of electricity and heating in conditions of abnormal frosts actually paralyzes the life of a city of a million people, so hoping for a promise not to strike for a week gives utilities a chance to restore heat supply.
At the same time, the analyst believes, there remains a great risk that the aggressor will use any pretext to violate the agreements and blame the Ukrainian side for this. The return to normal winter temperatures after the frost peak may defuse the situation a little if the power system can withstand the load, Oleksiy Getman added.
As a reminder, on January 29, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed an agreement on an “energy truce” with Russia for the period of winter cold. According to him, the agreements should come into effect as soon as next night, but their actual implementation will be determined by the situation on the ground.
Instead, the very next day, the head of state stated that the US initiative for an energy truce between Ukraine and Russia was only at the discussion stage, and Kyiv did not have any direct agreements with Moscow on a ceasefire.
Meanwhile, Russian President’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov said that US President Donald Trump asked Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin to refrain from strikes on Kyiv until February 1, and he allegedly agreed .
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