Israel to give 17 power generators to Ukraine for electricity-starved Kherson

Israel donated 17 generators to Ukraine for use in the southeastern Kherson region which has been largely plunged into darkness by Russian bombardment, Jerusalem’s embassy in Kyiv said Tuesday.

As its invasion has ground to a halt in the face of stiff Ukrainian resistance, Russia has systematically targeted Ukraine’s power infrastructure, leaving tens of thousands without electricity as winter sets in.

The generators “will illuminate the darkness in Ukraine,” Israel’s mission in Kyiv said, echoing the theme of lights expelling darkness in the Jewish festival of Hanukkah, which is currently being celebrated.

They will be used to provide electricity to the hospitals and the water infrastructure in the Kherson area, which was badly hit by the war, it said.

Donation of the generators “is part of the humanitarian aid effort of the State of Israel to Ukraine since the beginning of the war in February of this year,” it said.

“There is a special significance to the donation of the generators during the Hanukkah days,” said Israel’s ambassador to Ukraine, Michael Brodsky, referring to the eight-day festival that began on Sunday night. “We are helping to bring light back to the homes of the Ukrainians and helping the Ukrainian people in this difficult and dark hour.”

Staff move a 13-year-old boy to the operating room inside a hospital in Kherson, southern Ukraine, November 22, 2022. (Bernat Armangue/AP)

The generators were provided by Mashav, Israel’s national aid agency.

The embassy noted that aside from the generators, Israel has provided Ukraine with food, emergency equipment and winter clothing, medicine, training, and a field hospital that operated in Western Ukraine during March and April.

Kyiv has repeatedly criticized Israel for not going a step further by providing weapons and military systems to Ukraine.

Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights, has already made its presence felt in Ukraine.

On Sunday, Jews in Ukraine lit a giant menorah in Maidan Independence Square in the capital, Kyiv, for the first night of the festival.

Ukraine’s state-owned power grid operator Ukrenergo said Sunday electricity restoration work from Russian missile damage was continuing. It said the volume of electricity consumption increased compared to Saturday, due to falling temperatures.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky reported that power had been restored Sunday to 3 million Ukrainians, on top of 6 million others the day before.