Emergency Blackouts: Russia Strikes Ukraine’s Power Grids

On Tuesday, Ukraine imposed emergency blackouts after weeks of Russian strikes on power plants left the country unable to cope with a drop in temperatures.

Russia has undertaken some of its most devastating strikes on Ukraine’s energy facilities in recent months, knocking out critical infrastructure and forcing Ukraine to import electricity from surrounding EU nations to meet demand.

On Telegram, state power operator Ukrenergo wrote, “From 21:00 to 24:00 (1800-2100 GMT), Ukrenergo is forced to introduce controlled emergency shutdowns in all regions of Ukraine”.

“The reason for this is a significant shortage of electricity in the system as a result of Russian strikes and increased consumption due to a cold snap”, Ukrenergo added.

The severity of the power disruptions across the country was unclear.

In Kyiv, the city administration reported that 10 percent of residences had been disconnected.

Footage published on social media from the western city of Lviv showed buildings in complete darkness in the city centre, with street lights turned off.

Ukrenergo announced that electricity supplies to companies would be rationed throughout Wednesday.

Also read: Taiwan Detects 45 Chinese Military Aircraft Around Island