Energy company DTEK says it is running out of equipment to repair damaged infrastructure
Power lines damaged by Russian strikes in Mykolaiv Oblast, October 28, 2022 (Photo:REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko)
Ukraine’s largest energy company DTEK has run out of equipment to repair infrastructure damaged by Russian missile strikes, DTEK Executive Director Dmytro Sakharuk told Ukrainian national television on Oct. 31.
“Unfortunately, we’ve already used up the stock of equipment we had in our warehouses after the first two waves of missile attacks that have been taking place since Oct. 10,” he said.
“We were able to buy some equipment. Unfortunately, the cost of the equipment is now measured in the hundreds of millions of dollars... There are already some difficulties with the purchase of this equipment, since it’s very expensive.”
Sakharuk added the company was working on how to buy the equipment or get it from partners. According to him, the problem has affected all energy companies.
He stressed that emergency blackouts could already last from six to 12 hours, depending on how long it takes to restore energy facilities damaged by the Russian invaders.
“Obviously, the restoration won’t be fast,” Sakharuk said.
“The equipment that we put in earlier is damaged each time (with a fresh attack)... They (emergency blackouts) will be longer and longer each time.”
Several explosions rocked the capital city of Kyiv at about 8.00 a.m. Authorities in the capital later said that these were the sounds of air defense missiles destroying incoming Russian cruise missiles, and that there had been no direct hits on the capital.
However, at least one missile hit infrastructure serving the city of Kyiv in the surrounding Kyiv Oblast, which meant many people in the capital lost both power and water supplies.
Missile attacks were also reported in the cities of Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhya, as well as in Cherkasy, Kyiv, and Kirovohrad oblasts.
In many areas, Ukrainian air defense forces were heard shooting down Russian missiles.
The Russian invaders’ strikes were aimed at hitting energy infrastructure. Part of the cities of Kyiv, Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhya were left without power.
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