Ukraine's energy sector has lost significant part of generation - Zelensky

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said this in his nightly video address, Ukrinform reports, citing the president's website.

Dear Ukrainians!

A brief summary of this day.

Our military. The Commander-in-Chief reported on the situation at the front. The Kharkiv directions: Vovchansk, Lyptsi, Kupyansk. We are deterring Russian pressure. I thank each brigade, each unit. We also continue to focus on the Donetsk directions, first of all, the Pokrovsk one — where the situation is the most difficult, with the highest number of battles. In fact, the entire Kharkiv operation of the occupier is aimed at weakening our overall forces along the front, and, at the same time, it is an attempt to strengthen its propaganda — propaganda aimed also at world leaders. Russia wants to show that they are the ones who determine what happens next in the war. Our task is to thwart Russia's attempt to expand the war and to prevent the occupier from breaking both the frontline and our diplomacy — our way of bringing a just peace closer.

I have just had a long meeting on the preparations for the first Peace Summit to be held in Switzerland in June. This is the first real opportunity to bring a just end to this war closer. The Office team, our international experts, and all those involved in working with partners on the Summit were present at today's meeting. We have almost a month to go before the Summit, a month of our work. We already have the confirmations of states from all the continents to participate in the Summit. We will definitely continue to work at all levels to make the event effective. I will continue my communication with the leaders, the team will keep working at the level of national security advisors, as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Parliament, civic leaders… And we also use our informal ties with partners. Ukraine and many other countries have already been through so many Russian meannesses and deceptions — Russian violations of agreements and promises, that only the world majority together can ensure that Russia is effectively forced to respect the UN Charter, the international law, and real peace.

And there was another important meeting today. We had a very detailed and long conversation about the protection and restoration of our energy sector, and the situation in the energy industry in general. Prime Minister Shmyhal, the Minister of Energy, the military, and the representatives of energy companies. Now, after the Russian strikes, our energy sector has lost a significant part of its production. Time is needed to restore it. Much effort is needed to further develop the energy sector — the new energy sector, which will be able to function despite the threats of Russian terror. In addition, we are already preparing for the next heating season, which includes, in particular, scheduled repairs and preparation of nuclear generation. Therefore, there is a need for a very rational, thoughtful consumption of electricity again. Both at the Government level and at the level of regional and local authorities, as well as at the level of energy companies, we need to ensure that the public is fully informed about how power cuts happen now, when there is a peak load, and why we need everyone to be conscious of their consumption. Of course, we are working to provide Ukraine with more air defense protection. We are working with all our partners on a regular basis, and we are convincing them.

And one more thing.

Russian terror will never remain unpunished. Step by step, we are making sure that the Russian state feels the consequences and the price of its evil. I thank everyone who works for this, who produces our drones, our weapons. And everyone who uses them — and uses them accurately. Thank you!

Glory to Ukraine!