Ukraine’s electrical grid operator has told consumers to brace for more blackouts in the capital, Kyiv, and six other regions as it seeks to reduce the strain on energy infrastructure damaged by Russian missile and drone attacks.
Rolling blackouts are becoming increasingly routine in the capital of three million people after a wave of Russian attacks on power facilities that have damaged 40 percent of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure since October 10.
“The country’s power grid still cannot resume full operation after the Russian terrorist attacks,” the Ukrenergo grid operator said on Monday. “In some regions, we have to introduce blackouts to avoid overloading the high-voltage infrastructure.”
Scheduled shutdowns from 6am local time to the end of the day will affect Kyiv and the regions of Chernihiv, Cherkasy, Zhytomyr, Sumy, Kharkiv and Poltava, it said in a statement.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address to the nation that more than 4.5 million consumers were without power.