The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) will provide Ukraine with 20,000 tonnes of metal to protect energy facilities from Russian attacks.

As Ukraine’s State Agency for Infrastructure Recovery and Development reported on Facebook, the project is reportedly being executed by Tetra Tech ES, a USAID contractor, under a previously signed memorandum of understanding.

The report indicates that the company purchases metal from a Ukrainian manufacturer and then transports it to the construction site, where the first batch is already being used.

The project is currently focused on erecting second-level protection facilities. This includes 22 substations and 63 autotransformers in 14 oblasts.

The report also notes that concrete structures around national power company Ukrenergo's main grid have been erected since March 2023.

The Ukrainian government and the General Staff made the decision to protect energy facilities, whereas Ukraine’s Infrastructure Recovery and Development Agency cooperates with Ukrenergo, which forms the design and construction tasks.

"The design is based on input from the General Staff, a manual for the engineering forces, and international regulatory documents provided by specialists trained in the UK in accordance with UK and US regulations and standards," the Ukrainian agency says.

Earlier, reports emerged that the United States and its partners are jointly working in three areas to help Ukraine protect its energy infrastructure from Russian attacks.

Before that, the United States allocated US$25 million to Ukraine to recover the energy sector affected by Russian attacks.

In mid-November, the United States announced plans to pledge US$500 million to help Ukraine in the energy sector.