• Ukraine needs energy-efficient lightbulbs to cope with Russian attacks.
• President Zelensky claims that securing Ukraine’s energy security is essential.
• The EU has already committed to sending 30 million bulbs to help plug the power gap.

President Zelensky has stated that Ukraine needs millions of energy-efficient lightbulbs to cope with Russian attacks on the nation’s energy system.

He claimed during a conference speech in Paris that securing Ukraine’s energy security was essential for halting Russian aggression.

According to him, generators are now “as necessary in Ukraine as armoured vehicles and bulletproof vests.”

Millions of people in Ukraine are without electricity as a result of Russian attacks on the energy grid.

Ukraine has charged Russia with using the cold weather as a weapon against its civilian population since sections of the nation frequently experience winter temperatures below zero for weeks on end.

Today, electricity is only available in many areas of the nation for a few hours each day.

According to Volodymyr Zelensky, the damage to Ukraine’s energy infrastructure has resulted in an annual shortfall of around 2.5 gigawatts of electricity.

However, providing the nation with 50 million LED lightbulbs, which consume less energy than earlier models, would save around one gigawatt of electricity, so lowering the power gap by about 40%.

Already committed to sending 30 million bulbs is the EU.

Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said, “In these times of suffering and darkness, it is so important to bring light to Ukraine.”

President Zelensky stated during the conference in Paris, which was organised to assist Ukraine survive the winter and to plan for the country’s restoration, that around 12 million people in Ukraine are now not linked to the electrical grid.

“Unfortunately, this is a typical situation for us. And we expect new Russian strikes every day, which can dramatically increase the number of shutdowns.”

Nearly every area of the country has experienced blackouts, some of which lasted for days at a time.

Hospitals and other medical facilities must restrict the amount of patients they treat since they must rely on generators to keep the lights on.

“We are prioritising emergencies, trauma injuries, anything related to the war. We understand the consequences,” Viktor Liashko, the minister of health for Ukraine, told media.

More generators and specialized equipment were urgently required, according to President Zelensky, to fix the electricity infrastructure.

He estimated that it would cost roughly €1.5bn (£1.3bn) to restore Ukraine’s electricity grid.

According to France’s foreign minister, pledges at the conference totaled just over €1 billion, with €415 million going toward energy.

The summit was held in France on Tuesday, and French President Emmanuel Macron called Russia’s attacks on Ukraine’s power grid “cynical” and “cowardly.”

“They violate without any doubt the most basic principles of humanitarian law. These acts are intolerable and will not go unpunished.”

Due to the disproportionate harm done to civilians, experts have told media that Russia’s tactic of attacking Ukraine’s infrastructure almost surely violates international law.

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