The United States is actively working with partners, including NATO allies, to build up Ukraine’s air defense capabilities to protect the energy system, which faces an estimated 3 GW of capacity deficit in winter, as well as to further develop more sustainable and cleaner energy, said Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources Geoffrey Pyatt.

Pyatt said at the 9th annual Central and Eastern European Energy Security Conference in Washington on Tuesday that the United States is working hard, including with NATO allies, on aid, on air defense, to give Ukraine the ability to repel Russian attacks.

According to the Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources, it's going to be a tough winter anyway. He hopes Ukraine will be able to get about 15 GW of capacity, which is 3 GW less than expected demand. That means there will be power outages. But we can't let Vladimir Putin achieve what he couldn't achieve on the battlefield by attacking civilian power infrastructure, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State emphasized.

He noted that Russia, which has been targeting the power transmission system since the beginning of the war, has been making systematic efforts to destroy Ukraine's generating capacity this year, which, according to him, is especially alarming. At the same time, the Russian Federation is using a variety of weapons for attacks, increasing their capacity.

In this regard, according to Pyatt, Ukraine's allies and partners around the world must help Ukrainians increase the resilience of the energy system, to ensure that Ukrainians survive next winter, as they have already survived two winters of this energy war.

According to him, the United States alone has provided more than $500 million to repair and reconstruct the energy sector. There will be more. The United States is working with USAID, the Department of Energy, with partners such as DFC (United States International Development Finance Corporation) on long-term investments to increase capacity and create a future Ukrainian energy system that is cleaner, greener and more resilient, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State explained.

Regarding the upcoming autumn-winter period, Pyatt further noted at the conference that all regions of Ukraine will be vulnerable to varying degrees and for various reasons in the coming heating season.

Based on his words, the energy supply to Kyiv, where the government is located, is of paramount importance.

He also emphasized that the United States is very concerned from a humanitarian point of view about Kharkiv, the second largest city in Ukraine, which has experienced a massive destruction of its heating capacity.

Pyatt expressed the opinion that this is why partners need to do everything possible to help Ukrainians build resilience and ensure their victory. He noted, among other things, that he discussed with many American companies working in the energy sector the issues of providing Ukraine with flexible mobile energy and energy leasing.