Lithuania to provide Ukraine with energy equipment worth nearly $55 million.

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Lithuanian companies will provide Ukraine with energy assistance worth more than 50 million euros (nearly £55 million), Ukraine's Energy Ministry announced on July 16. "The equipment provided by Lithuanian companies will help power engineers restore the energy infrastructure damaged by Russian attacks and bring light and heat back to the homes of thousands of Ukrainians," Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said. "We are grateful to our partners for this support," he added.

The humanitarian aid includes more than 300 pieces of equipment, including equipment from the Vilnius Combined Heat and Power Plant, or the Vilnius Power Plant-3, according to the ministry. The day before, Lithuanian company Ignitis Gamyba announced the transfer of equipment from the Vilnius Power Plant-3, which had not been used since 2015, to Ukraine. Since March 2022, Ukraine has received 80 deliveries of energy equipment from Lithuania, weighing over 1,445 metric tons.

The aid has included autotransformers, current and voltage transformers, power transformers, backup power plants, and other repair equipment, the ministry added. In recent months, Russia has intensified its attacks against Ukraine's critical infrastructure in a renewed assault against the country's energy grid. Due to dwindling energy supplies caused by Russian attacks, Ukraine's largest privately-owned energy provider, DTEK, has warned that Ukrainians may only have electricity for 6-7 hours per day in the upcoming winter.

In a "worst-case" scenario in which Ukraine is unable to repair damaged energy facilities and prevent future attacks, Ukrainians could experience up to 20 hours of blackouts a day, DTEK Executive Director Dmytro Sakharuk told the Kyiv Independent in an interview in June.

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Since spring, Russia has intensified its attacks against Ukraine's critical infrastructure in a renewed assault against the country's energy grid, leading to blackouts.