Russian strikes force hours-long power cuts
Ukraine's electricity grid operator has warned of hours-long power outages as Russia zeroed in on Ukraine's energy infrastructure with renewed artillery and missile attacks that have interrupted supply to as much as 40 per cent of the population at the onset of winter.
Ukrenergo said outages could last for several hours with colder temperatures putting additional pressure on energy networks.
"You always need to prepare for the worst. We understand that the enemy wants to destroy our power system in general, to cause long outages," Ukrenergo's chief executive, Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, told Ukrainian state television yesterday.
"We need to prepare for possible long outages, but at the moment we are introducing schedules that are planned and will do everything to ensure that the outages are not very long."
The capital of Kyiv is already facing a "huge deficit in electricity", mayor Vitali Klitschko said. Some 1.5 million to two million people–about half the city' s population–are periodically plunged into darkness as authorities switch electricity from one district to another.
"It's a critical situation," he said.
Mr kl itschko said russian president Vladimir Putin's military planners are apparently hoping" to bring us, everyone, to depression".
"It's wrong," he said. "After every rocket attack, I talk to the people, to simple civilians. They (are) not depressed. they were angry, angry and ready to stay and defend our houses, our families and our future ."
Mr Kudrytskyi said the power situation at critical facilities such as hospitals and schools has been stabilised.