Ukrainians fear the hardest test since the war began, drone chief warns of potential catastrophe

Ukraine braces for what officials and industry experts believe could be the most severe test of its resilience since the war began: a winter of intensified Russian attacks on energy infrastructure. The nation is racing to bolster defenses and secure essential supplies of heat and electricity, anticipating a difficult season ahead.

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Winter is coming, and last winter was very difficult for Ukraine and for big cities in general. This will be no easier, it will probably be even harder.

Iryna Terekh, CEO of Ukrainian drone manufacturer Fire Point, warned that "This [winter] will be no easier, it will probably be even harder." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stressed the importance of fully operational and protected energy facilities since April. Recent Russian missile strikes, potentially exploiting Ukraine's limited ballistic missile interceptors, underscore the urgency.

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We are trying to compress a 20 to 30-year program into just three months before winter, and that is not something that can be done in just three months.

Ukraine remains heavily reliant on the U.S.-supplied Patriot system for ballistic missile defense. Meanwhile, domestic companies like Fire Point are working to accelerate the development of their own anti-missile technologies, a process Terekh described as compressing a "20 to 30-year program into just three months before winter." President Zelenskyy has appealed to international partners, particularly the U.S. and European allies, highlighting that "real human lives depend on whether they help us."

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I hope that all our partners, primarily American, as well as our friends in Europe, will feel that real human lives depend on whether they help us.

In response to these challenges, Ukraine is seeking additional funding from European partners, including a €90 billion EU aid package, and negotiating a special winter assistance program. Serhiy Kuzan, head of the Kyiv-based think tank Ukrainian Center for Security and Cooperation, suggested that recent government reshuffling is linked to these winter preparations. He stated that the "main task of the renewed cabinet is to ensure that energy and security infrastructure are fully ready for the cold weather."

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In fact, the government has been reformed and revitalized to reset institutional processes and improve coordination among different departments. As President Zelenskyy has pointed out, the main task of the renewed cabinet is to ensure that energy and security infrastructure are fully ready for the cold weather.