Ukraine cuts power imports by 31% in April vs March, consultancy says
KYIV, May 1 (Reuters) - Ukraine, whose power system has been under constant Russian missile and drone attacks, reduced electricity imports by 31% in April after an 11% increase in March thanks to warm weather, Ukrainian ExPro consultancy said on Thursday.
The consultancy said Ukraine imported 187 gigawatt hours in April against 272 GWh in March.
ExPro said most of the electricity - 44% - was supplied from Hungary. Ukraine also imported electricity from Slovakia and Poland.
Ukrainian officials have said the Russian attacks deprived Ukraine of half of its generating capacity, some of which Kyiv has managed to restore.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NBC News
an hour ago
- NBC News
Hong Kong opera puts Trump on stage with Mao, Kim and more
HONG KONG — The past few months under President Donald Trump have been nothing if not operatic — all the more so when China gets involved. So why not reimagine it for the stage? 'Trump, The Twins President,' which just wrapped up three days of performances in the Chinese territory of Hong Kong, marries traditional Cantonese opera with a parody of modern political events, mostly involving Trump. Though the opera satirizes a range of political figures from China, the U.S. and elsewhere, the star of the show is Trump, who shimmied across the stage in a blond wig and eyebrows, blue suit and red tie to the delight of sold-out audiences at a 1,000-seat theater at the Xiqu Centre, a performing arts venue for Cantonese opera and Chinese traditional theater. The three-and-a-half-hour show began in 2019 but has been updated to reflect current events, most recently Trump's attempted assassination at a rally in Pennsylvania last summer and his heated Oval Office exchange with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in February. The show was peppered with other up-to-the-minute references, including Trump's derision of Canada as the '51st state,' his assault on Harvard and his turbulent relationship with tech billionaire Elon Musk. highly anticipated call with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Scottish Sun
2 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Putin plotting to blitz Ukraine with ‘vicious & unrelenting' revenge strike in days after Op Spiderweb, US insiders warn
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) VLADIMIR Putin is preparing a "huge, vicious and unrelenting" revenge assault on Ukraine just days after Operation Spiderweb, U.S. and Western officials have warned. Insiders said the Kremlin's full-scale retaliation for last week's stunning drone blitz on four key Russian airbases hasn't yet materialized - but it is coming very soon. 12 Western officials have warned that Vladimir Putin is plotting a major revenge assault on Ukraine Credit: AFP 12 Fire and smoke rise from the site where a Russian missile struck a residential area in Kharkiv on Saturday Credit: AP 12 Officials say the strikes could also aim symbolic Ukrainian targets 12 Footage of Operation Spiderweb showed Russian planes left burning on the runway The revenge strike will be "asymmetrical" and likely to feature a mix of drones and missiles aimed at symbolic Ukrainian targets - not just military assets, one U.S. official told Reuters. Another said the operation could begin within days. A senior Western diplomat added: "It will be huge, vicious and unrelenting. "But the Ukrainians are brave people." On Friday, Russia unleashed a fierce missile and drone barrage on Kyiv, killing at least six and injuring over 80, but American officials say this may only be the beginning. Russia's Defense Ministry called it a response to "terrorist acts" by Ukraine - but insiders say the real retaliation is still being assembled behind the scenes. U.S. officials believe the SBU — Ukraine's security service — may be directly targeted in the revenge strike. Carnegie Endowment analyst Michael Kofman told Reuters: "Most likely, they will attempt to retaliate against (SBU) headquarters, or other regional intelligence administration buildings. "In general, Russia's ability to substantially escalate strikes from what they are already doing — and attempting to do over the past month — is quite constrained." Putin plotting 'final killer offensive' to WIN Ukraine war despite Russian losses nearing 1 MILLION 12 PUTIN'S $7bn HUMILIATION The looming storm follows Operation Spiderweb - Ukraine's most daring covert strike yet. It was led personally by spy chief Vasyl Malyuk under the direct orders of President Volodymyr Zelensky. Over 117 kamikaze drones were launched from hidden mobile units disguised as everyday cargo trucks, slipped undetected into Russian territory. New footage released on Saturday by Ukraine's SBU shows an FPV drone lifting off from a lorry rooftop before smashing directly into a Russian bomber at the Belaya airfield. The strikes hit four strategic bases - Belaya, Dyagilevo, Olenya, and Ivanovo — torching aircraft capable of launching nuclear warheads. Ukrainian officials say 41 planes were destroyed or damaged. U.S. intelligence puts the figure closer to 20, with at least 10 completely destroyed - still a staggering blow to Russia's long-range bomber fleet. The $7billion damage, inflicted with zero boots on the ground, has left the Kremlin tyrant furious and determined to reassert its military dominance. 12 The SBU released new footage of the covert operation on Saturday Credit: Twitter 12 It showed a drone lifting off from what appears to be a transport vehicle before targeting Putin's bomber planes 'IT'S NOT GOING TO BE PRETTY' President Donald Trump revealed this week that he spoke directly with Putin on Wednesday. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the Russian despot told him "he will have to respond" to the drone attack. Speaking to reporters later, Trump added: "It's probably not going to be pretty. I don't like it. "I said: 'Don't do it. You shouldn't do it. You should stop it.' "But, again, there's a lot of hatred." Meanwhile, Russia's propaganda machine is framing the war as existential. Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declared Friday: "This is about the future of our children, of our country." 12 A view of destruction following the two-hour Russian attack on Kharkiv on Saturday Credit: Getty 12 A man stands amid rubble in destroyed house at residential district after Russian shelling in Kharkiv Credit: Getty BLITZ ALREADY UNDERWAY? While officials say the major strike is still to come, Ukraine is already reeling from a brutal few days of missile and drone attacks. On Friday, 400 drones and 45 missiles rained down on cities across the country. In Kyiv, explosions lit up the night sky near the Mother Ukraine monument. A fire tore through the 11th floor of a residential block in Solomyanskyi, and emergency crews rushed to save civilians trapped inside. Overnight into Saturday, Kharkiv suffered Russia's largest airstrike yet, killing three - including a baby and a 14-year-old girl - and wounding 21. 'We have a lot of damage,' Kharkiv's mayor Ihor Terekhov said. At least 18 apartment buildings and 13 homes were hit, with more strikes reported in Donetsk, Dnipro, Ternopil, and Odesa. Ukraine's Air Force said it shot down 174 out of 206 drones and nine missiles overnight. 12 Smoke billowing from a fire burning in a building after an airstrike in Kharkiv on Saturday Credit: EPA 12 Explosion is seen after Russian air strike on Kyiv, Ukraine, on Friday SUMMER OFFENSIVE BREWING Western analysts say Mad Vlad is not just seeking revenge - but a breakthrough. Reports from Ukrainian intelligence suggest up to 125,000 troops are massing near the Sumy and Kharkiv frontiers, with fears of a three-pronged summer assault to finally break the deadlock. The offensive is expected to focus on Kramatorsk, Kostiantynivka, and Pokrovsk in the Donbas - with plans to encircle key cities rather than slug it out street by street. Military analyst Konrad Muzyka told The Telegraph Russia's tactics have evolved: "We have seen the Russians shift to focused, small-unit attacks, often of just three to five men. "Company-size assaults of 50 to 100 men hardly ever happen anymore." But Ukraine, armed with drones and Western weapons, isn't backing down. Zelensky warned this week: "Even after all of Russia's horrific attacks, he is reportedly preparing yet more so-called 'responses.' "With every new strike, with every delay of diplomacy, Russia is giving the finger to the entire world."
The Herald Scotland
4 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
Cheap, fast, explosive: Stopping Ukraine-style drone swarms
Neither the Pentagon, nor the militaries of other developed countries, has figured out how to defend against swarms of small drones packed with explosives, according to the military official, who has been briefed on counter-drone efforts but was not authorized to speak publicly. More: Russia's 'Pearl Harbor': What to know about Ukraine's audacious drone strike We're not even close, the official said. No one is. The threat from drones to military isn't just overseas. Last year, the military tallied 350 drone incursions on domestic bases, according to U.S. Northern Command. Most of those were probably hobbyists who strayed into restricted airspace, the defense official said. Some, however, could have been from foreign adversaries spying on the military. And some wonder if they could have carried explosives. More: Ukraine drone attack shows familiar-looking drones can be terrifying weapons How does the Pentagon, which spends nearly a trillion dollars a year on defense, have such a vulnerability? What's being done to address it, and how future of drone warfare plays out gains greater and greater urgency for lawmakers and military planners as technology improves almost daily. For the better part of two decades, the Pentagon had unmatched superiority in drone technology. Early in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Predator and later Reaper drones armed with Hellfire missiles allowed pilots in dark bases in the Nevada desert to attack militant targets in the Middle East. A Reaper costs about $28 million, according to the Congressional Research Service. For a fraction of that cost today, a small drone can be weaponized and flown to its target and deliver devastating effects, too. "At a cost of a mere tens of thousands of dollars, Ukraine inflicted billions in damage, potentially setting back Russia's bomber capabilities for years," Army Secretary Dan Driscoll testified to Congress this week. "The world saw in near-real time how readily available technology can disrupt established power dynamics." Ukraine has been at the forefront of militarized drone development. By necessity, it needs a cheap alternative to thwart Russia, a country with a far larger military force that has advantages in conventional weapons like warplanes, tanks and artillery. Ukraine deployed first-person view, or FPV drones, in its attack on the Russian airfields. FPV drones allow a pilot with a headset to steer the aircraft to its target. That technology has proliferated and gotten relatively cheap in recent years. You can buy an FPV drone on Amazon for under $700. The Ukrainian military has refined technology for small drones and improves nearly weekly to offset Russian countermeasures, the defense official said. Fatal attack The Pentagon is painfully aware of the threat. In January 2024 militants in Jordan launched a drone attack on an outpost in the desert as soldiers slept in their quarters. Three died when the drone slammed into their building. Realizing the urgency of the threat, the Pentagon began funneling hundreds of millions of dollars into counter-drone weaponry. That includes electronic jamming devices that can sever the link between the operator and the drone, rendering it harmless. Small missiles can be fired at drones at a distance, and shotgun-type weapons can be used for those closer in, the official said. Even nets can be used to snag drones in the air before they reach their target. Defending against a swarm of small drones is a tough problem, the official said. There's no simple solution. On Capitol Hill, Sen. Roger Wicker, the Republican chairman of the Armed Services Committee, assured Army officials that Congress is prepared to spend billions on drone defense. Before senators and Army officials retreated to discuss the drone threat in secret, Driscoll raised another alarm about the threat. "We are not doing enough," he said. "The current status quo is not sufficient."
