Kyiv, Sept. 13 (SANA)The United Nations has warned that Ukraine could face its harshest winter since the war began in 2022, as extensive damage to energy infrastructure threatens to disrupt heating, water and sanitation services.

The Ukrainian news agency quoted United Nations Development Program Administrator Alexander De Croo as saying in a radio interview on Sunday that the current situation risked triggering a “humanitarian catastrophe,” with damage to the power grid threatening the delivery of essential services.

De Croo said technical teams were working around the clock to restore the electricity network before winter, noting that the UNDP was helping repair damaged infrastructure and develop more resilient, decentralized energy facilities that would be less vulnerable to attacks.

He said repairing the energy system amid continued bombardment was an extremely difficult task, as technicians were forced to suspend their work whenever air raid sirens sounded.

Ukrainian Economy Minister Oleksandr Kravchenko also warned of a difficult winter, estimating that Russian attacks had caused around $10 billion in damage to infrastructure and fixed assets this year.

Kravchenko said the wider economic losses caused by the attacks and the effective blockade of Ukrainian ports were estimated at about 1.5 percentage points of gross domestic product, at a time when the country’s budget and fiscal space were under severe strain.

Earlier on Sunday, Ukrainian Prime Minister Serhiy Koretsky said his government was accelerating work on the documents and procedures needed to secure $29.5 billion in international financing this year, with the process expected to be completed by Oct. 15.