“Unprecedented” power outages are expected for “the next few days” in kyiv and its region, due to the significant damage inflicted on the power system in Ukraine by recent Russian attacks, the Ukrainian private operator DTEK announced on Friday.
“Unfortunately, more severe and longer cuts will be implemented in the coming days,” announced the regional department of this group on Facebook.
“The country’s energy system has suffered further damage,” DTEK said, assessing “a lack of up to 30% of Kyiv’s consumption.”
For more than two weeks, Russia has intensified attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, leading to the destruction of at least a third of its capacities in this area, just before winter.
“The situation is still very tense”
As a result, and in order to prevent the entire distribution network from becoming congested, daily power cuts of a few hours have been imposed in many regions, particularly in the capital Kyiv, for several days.
After the Russian attacks carried out during the night from Wednesday to Thursday, the cuts planned in Kyiv and its region will last “five to six hours” compared to the four hours planned a priori so far, added for his part the executive director of the DTEK group. Dmytro Sakharouk, quoted by the Interfax-Ukraine news agency.
A new program of cuts will be announced in the coming days, said Dmytro Sakharouk. “I warn that it is not going to be pleasant because the number of hours that one is going to have to be without electricity has to be increased. Unfortunately, there is no other solution until the infrastructure is repaired.”
The governor of the kyiv region, Oleksiï Kouleba, for his part, called on the local population on Thursday to prepare for “emergency power cuts for an indefinite period” and to “consume electricity in moderation.” “The situation remains tense and unfortunately it is too early to talk about a stabilization of the system,” he said on Telegram on Friday.
Source: BFM TV
