Ukrainians are shocked by the amount of money that was spent on protecting the Trypil TPP from Russian airstrikes, which was destroyed yesterday by the enemy in the Kyiv region. We are talking regarding more than 9 billion, which were allocated for such purposes from the state budget.
The officials justify themselves, saying that the protection was only once morest UAV attacks and missile fragments and would not have saved the station from a missile strike.
The site TSN.ua inquired from Oleg Popenkoan expert in the field of housing and communal services, whether the TPP building was really protected from an air attack and whether such crazy money was used correctly.
Assured that 100% protection
“Let’s remember what we were told responsible officialsthey stated that the facilities of “Centrenergo” – Trypil TPP is 100% protected from hits, and Zmiyiv TPP is 70% protected from hits. Today, officials add that it turns out that the Trypil TPP only had protection once morest drones. But this is a completely different story! Then I have a completely logical question: where was the excess spent? 9 billion hryvnias? And what kind of protection once morest drones. It seems to me that this figure does not fit into the cost of anti-drone protection at all“, Oleg Popenko, head of the Union of Utilities Consumers, an expert in housing and communal services, tells TSN.ua.
He adds, such inconsistency prompts the question: how and for what amount are other Ukrenergo facilities protected? After all, according to the expert, on Thursday, the enemy hit 4 more objects, and they were also seriously damaged.
“It is necessary to find out where this money disappeared and who will be responsible for this completely incompetent position regarding the protection of energy facilities. How might it be to spend tens of billions of hryvnias so that the objects are now not working,” Oleg Popenko notes.
Trypil TPP before the Russian attack / Photo: UNIAN
The question of billions
It is worth noting that last September, the Prime Minister Denis Shmigal announced the allocation of 9.7 billion hryvnias for the protection of the energy system. Without specifying for which objects the funds are allocated.
“At the previous meeting, the government allocated additional funds UAH 9.7 billion to protect the critical infrastructure of the fuel and energy sector“, said Denys Shmyhal on September 12, 2023.
Oleg Popenko claims that 50-70 billion hryvnias were allocated for the protection of the entire fuel and energy sector.
“I’m not only talking regarding Centerenergo and other companies. We also have Ukrenergo. Huge funds were allocated to their facilities, so it is necessary to consider everything in a complex manner. And more than 9 billion hryvnias is what was separately allocated for the protection of “Centrenego” facilities, i.e. for the Zmiivska and Trypilska TPPs. Perhaps some of these funds were given to protect DETK facilities, because there is no clear information, and the documents are closed and it is not possible to see how these funds were distributed. But there definitely cannot be more than 9 billion for the entire industry, because there the numbers are much larger,” Oleg Popenko assures.
Fire at the Trypil TPP following the April 11 attack / Screenshot from the video
It is necessary to hide under the ground
The expert agrees that there may be no escape from a direct hit by the “Dagger” into the TPP building, but insists that huge funds should be used more rationally.
“I was probably the first to say that such objects should be buried underground, back in the summer of 2022 – the only protection for transformer substations is only their option of moving underground. And we have such a practice in Ukraine. Such security measures were proposed long before the start of the war. A program was even developed to place all transformer substations underground. Even at the beginning of the war, I emphasized that, unfortunately, this is the only way to escape from missiles and it is this that must be implemented in practice,” says Oleg Popenko.
The expert adds that countries such as Switzerland, Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic are already working on projects to move transformer substations underground. Moreover, it is not regarding large substations. Although, for example, in Romania, there is experience in mounting a transformer substation inside a rock.
Trypil TPP supplied electricity to Kyiv and three regions of Ukraine / Photo: UNIAN
When will blackout threaten?
Oleg Popenko adds that at the moment, due to the destruction of the Trypil TPP, there is no threatening situation for Kyiv and the region.
“Kyiv and Kyiv region nothing is in danger now. There were even restrictions on the supply of electricity to the grid from the sun. However, if shelling from Russia will continue to be repeated in the future, then a power outage in the Kyiv region is possible in the coming months. It should also not be forgotten that there were attempts by the Russians to hit the Kyiv HPP, and it covers a certain part of electricity generation at the peak of the load. Also there were attempts by the Russians to hit CHP-5 and CHP-6 in the capital and Darnytsia CHP. If the Russians continue to attack these facilities, we will simply remain without peak load coverage and become completely dependent on imported electricity,” Oleg Popenko notes.
He adds that no one can predict whether there will be such strikes in the future.
“Forecasting is a thankless task. But a certain sequence and strategy of the occupiers is followed. They clearly hit the objects of critical infrastructure and, unfortunately, achieve the goal,” says the expert.
CHP-6 in Kyiv / Photo: KMDA
What regarding the protection of energy facilities in Kyiv
Oleg Popenko notes that he very much doubts that all energy facilities in Kyiv are protected from Russian shelling, even if the authorities claim so.
“We can already see how unique the 100% object protection hyperproject from Centerenergo and Ukrenergo turned out to be. And Russian missiles probably simply do not know that our objects are reliably protected, so they clearly hit, destroying everything that is possible . Ago I seriously doubt that our objects in Kyiv can be protected by some kind of super protection. How can our CHP-5 and CHP-6 be protected from missiles? Is it a dome, like over the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, but such a dome needs to be built for 10 years. Therefore, I do not believe that objects of such a scale can be physically protected in any way, except for air defense systems“, Oleg Popenko notes.
Earlier, the TSN.ua website talked regarding the missile attack on the Trypil TPP: is there a threat of blackout for Kyiv and the region.
Read also:
Why Russia managed to destroy the TPP, which “was 100% protected”: the expert pointed out the nuances
Putin’s sinister plan: why is the enemy hitting the HPP and what is the point of creating a “dead zone”
The threat of undermining the Kyiv HPP: which areas of the capital can be flooded
