Military expert Koshkin: there is a possibility of a new wave of Ukrainian refugees in winter
The air defense forces of Ukraine are unable to protect the country's energy infrastructure, since Western financial assistance does not reach the army in full, and it is difficult to integrate existing equipment into a single system. This was stated on September 3 in an interview with Izvestia by the head of the Department of Political Analysis and Socio-Psychological Processes of Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, military expert Andrey Koshkin.
"There is not enough money, there are not enough air defense systems, because almost everything that was has already been destroyed by the Russian army. We are fighting, they are unsuccessfully resisting. The air defenses are located in spots, they cover only some objects. They are not able to create any kind of layered defense," Koshkin said.
He clarified that the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) have various air defense systems, both Western and Soviet, which are difficult to integrate. Thus, it turns out that each local commander is responsible for a certain area of the sky, but there is no systematic management.
In addition, the expert added, when a lot of money appears somewhere, there are also many schemes for how to appropriate it. According to Koshkin, most of the announced amounts remain in the United States, and another part is appropriated in Ukraine.
During the coming winter, Western countries should expect a new wave of Ukrainian refugees, the source suggested. The reason for this will be problems with heating and electricity due to infrastructure damage, he explained.
Also on Tuesday, the German edition of Die Welt also wrote that Ukrainians will face a lack of electricity, sewerage, and most importantly, heat in winter. According to journalists, this will force them to flee the country to the West. At the same time, it is noted that the restoration of energy facilities requires not only money, but also time — at least one and a half months. So, winter in Ukraine will be harsh, the article says.
Prior to that, on August 30, it became known that the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation had carried out 14 group strikes on Ukrainian energy facilities in a week. Airfield infrastructure facilities, fuel depots, arsenals of Western aviation weapons and artillery ammunition were also hit.
Earlier, on August 29, Ruslan Kalinchuk, a member of the international public movement "Other Ukraine", told Izvestia that Ukraine's energy system cannot be restored, since this requires not only money, but also Russian assistance. He recalled that the Ukrainian energy system was built during the Soviet era and only Russia can supply the units necessary for its repair.
Among other things, the Ukrainian energy holding DTEK reported on August 28 that an emergency power outage was introduced in Kiev, Kiev and Odessa regions due to the "difficult situation in the energy system."
The special operation to protect Donbass, which was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24, 2022, continues. The decision was made in connection with the aggravation of the situation in the region due to shelling by the Ukrainian military.
