The economy today

How can Ukraine escape the blackout?

Audio 04:11

A view shows the area near the regional administration building, which city officials say was hit by a missile attack, in central Kharkiv, Ukraine March 1, 2022. © REUTERS/Vyacheslav Madiyevskyy

By: Dominique Baillard Follow

4 mins

Ukrainian cities under Russian bombs for a week fear power cuts.

This essential service is often the first to be suspended in a war.

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Ocha, the United Nations humanitarian agency, confirms that the power has already been cut in entire cities: 400,000 inhabitants of the Donetsk region on both sides of the contact line no longer have electricity, 40,000 are deprived of water.

The destruction of these vital installations is a collateral effect of the fighting, and often, it must be said, a deliberate act by the aggressor to "break" civilian morale.

The inhabitants of Crimea paid the price in 2014: after the annexation, there was a gigantic power outage in December, following the sabotage of high-voltage lines on Ukrainian territory which still distributed electricity on the peninsula.

The perpetrators have not been identified and Crimea has endured many more blackouts.

Today, all of Ukraine lives in fear of the

.

How can Ukraine deal with this risk?

The ideal solution is connection to the European network.

In the event of a giant blackout, neighboring countries could immediately supply Ukraine.

The Ukrainians have been dreaming about it for years, and with the war, they are now very close to the goal.

They became aware of the problem after the 2014 conflict. They understood that they had to free themselves from Russian supervision on all fronts, including for their electricity network still dependent on the supervision of the former Soviet big brother. .

In 2016, Ukraine's electricity grid was the target of a devastating cyberattack emanating from Russia.

The following year, the government therefore asked to be connected to the European network, of which the Twenty-Seven belonged, as did other neighboring countries that were not members of the Union.

The government of the day made it a strategic priority

But the case is progressing slowly.

For technical reasons, but also because of the reluctance of certain States.

They fear being contaminated by cyberattacks.

The ability of the Ukrainian system to operate autonomously, free from Russia, was a prerequisite for connecting with the Western network.

Kiev therefore had to first cut the cord with the Russian network.

Coincidentally, the operation took place on Thursday, February 24, the day of the invasion.

And the Ukrainian system has survived, without any particular shock.

This life-size test, carried out in a war situation, is due to end on Monday.

Synchronization with the European network will be immediate?

It's more a matter of weeks.

The Ministers of Energy of the Twenty-Seven spoke about it on Monday, they are in favor of it.

But there are still technical and administrative steps to go through.

There is urgency, because today electricity is produced in slow motion.

As a precaution, half of the nuclear reactors are shut down, the atom provides 50% of the electricity.

A large part of the wind turbines and solar power plants are also shut down.

They provide 10% of the electricity consumed.

The hydroelectric plant serving the capital has reportedly been seized by Russian forces and the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant is now surrounded.

Will the Russian army go so far as to destroy the power stations?

Or stop them?

The Ukrainian Minister of Energy monitors the network like milk on fire.

It is kept informed every two hours of the general state of production and distribution of current.

► IN BRIEF

The use of bitcoins and other crypto currencies could soon be subject to sanctions

These currencies could be an alternative for Russians deprived of currency and the ability to make international transactions through the usual channels.

The US Department of Justice is working on the subject and the European Central Bank is also wondering.

Experts are skeptical, the crypto market is still narrow, not deep enough, to become a credible alternative to the dollar or the euro.

Another consequence of Russia's economic isolation is that Russian stocks will be removed from the index of emerging countries.

This is a new setback for Moscow.

"

," said an official at MSCI, which manages these stock indices.

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• Ukraine

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