A massive attack on the power grid. Emergency power cuts are in effect in Ukraine
On the night and morning of 23 December, Russia struck another massive blow to Ukraine's energy system. This was announced during a briefing by Acting Minister of Energy Artem Nekrasov.
According to him, this is the ninth large-scale attack on the energy sector since the beginning of the year. As of this morning, Rivne, Ternopil and Khmelnytsky regions are almost completely without power. Partial blackouts have been reported in Vinnytsia, Chernihiv, Zhytomyr, Donetsk, Dnipro and Kharkiv regions.
In Odesa region, power engineers continue to eliminate the consequences of several waves of infrastructure damage. A significant number of consumers remain without power, and repair crews work around the clock, taking into account the security situation.
As a result of the missile and drone attack, emergency blackout schedules have been introduced across Ukraine. The hourly schedules previously published by regional power distribution companies are temporarily inactive. Emergency blackouts will be cancelled as soon as the power system is stabilised.
According to Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Telegram, Russia has launched more than 650 drones, many of them Shahed, as well as more than 30 missiles. At least 13 regions came under attack. Some of the targets were shot down by air defences, but there were also casualties. Civilians were killed in Kyiv, Khmelnytsky and Zhytomyr regions, including a four-year-old child.
Rescuers and power engineers continue to work to restore power supply as soon as possible.
