Newsletters
Ukraine is facing its "toughest winter" since Russia's full-scale invasion began in 2022, a senior U.N. official told the BBC, warning of a potential "humanitarian catastrophe" if Russian strikes cut off power and water.
The warning came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy detailed the country's Patriot missile needs and threatened retaliation if Russia targets its energy grid this winter.
Achim Steiner (Alexander De Croo), head of the UN Development Programme and the UN's third most senior official, accused Russia of "very systematic" targeting of civilian and energy infrastructure during a visit to Ukraine, warning of a "race against the clock" to repair the power network before temperatures plummet.
"This winter is going to be the toughest one since the war," De Croo, a former prime minister of Belgium, told the BBC.
He said Ukraine was starting "from a very weak base going into this winter," adding that the UN was "very, very worried... about what this winter could become."
De Croo described the risk to civilian infrastructure by stating, "This is petrol stations, it's shopping malls, it's business centers, but it's especially energy infrastructure, energy transmission lines, and so on. There is absolutely no justification for that."
He warned that severe damage to power and water systems could produce "circumstances which would be really close to humanitarian catastrophe," given winter temperatures in Ukraine that can fall to minus 20 degrees Celsius.
De Croo said the UN Development Program is helping rebuild parts of Ukraine's energy system damaged last winter and is working to establish more decentralized power plants less vulnerable to attack, though he called the effort "almost an impossible task" given the conditions.
"They are reconstructing these sites under constant, constant air alarms. And they know that they are working at a site which is a target," he said, noting, "So you try to reconstruct, but part of your day you can't work because it's just too dangerous."
Separately, Zelenskyy warned Friday that Russia would face retaliation if it targets Ukraine's energy system this winter.
"Russia knows that if they strike, and they are preparing to strike our energy system this winter, Russia will receive the same in return," Zelenskyy wrote on the social media platform X.
"If they cause blackouts for us, we will try to respond in fitting fashion," he added.
Zelenskyy said negotiations remain Ukraine's preferred path to ending the war, calling for progress toward a possible trilateral meeting involving Ukraine, Russia and the United States, an energy truce, the unblocking of the Black Sea, and continued prisoner and civilian exchanges, including children held in Russia.
He warned that a prolonged war poses risks to the global economy, particularly for food and energy security, saying disruptions to Black Sea grain exports could worsen shortages in vulnerable countries.
"This will be like Hormuz, only agricultural. And that is a serious problem. It shouldn't be up to Ukraine alone to solve this. Because it is a challenge for many," Zelenskyy said.
He also called on the US Congress to pass sanctions legislation backed by the late Sen. Lindsey Graham and urged stronger action from the Trump administration. "Sanctions need to be imposed now," Zelenskyy said.
"This is a tool the United States has to deprive Russia of its ability to finance the war against Ukraine every day. And honestly, sometimes I don't understand why decisions can't be made quickly," he noted.
In a separate interview with DW at a Canadian military base in North Bay, Zelenskyy laid out Ukraine's need for Patriot interceptor missiles heading into winter.
He said Russia is currently producing 140 ballistic missiles per month, while NATO standards call for a ratio of two interceptors for every missile, meaning 280 interceptors would be needed to counter that output, a quantity he said was impossible to obtain.
"I want to have 100-120 (interceptors) for these difficult months, especially for the cold months. We'll see how many months this winter will last, meaning these cold months: one, two, three. We don't know. This is really a big challenge," Zelenskyy said, adding that even 100 interceptors per month would be "a huge challenge" for Ukraine to secure.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine could obtain missiles from U.S. reserves or production, as well as through a European aid package, and said he was discussing supplies with Middle Eastern countries.
He urged European nations to provide maximum support and pointed to the pan-European FREYJA anti-ballistic missile system, saying the goal is to receive the first such system for testing by the end of December before beginning production.
"This is a big experiment, but it is real," Zelenskyy said.
Zelenskyy separately agreed with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on substantial new support for Ukraine, including seven new aid packages, six joint initiatives and three cooperation documents, according to Ukrainian state news agency Ukrinform.
Set as preferred source
Set as preferred source
3 min read
