Three Ukrainian oblasts plunge into near-total blackout
Power outages are in effect in almost all Ukrainian oblasts after Russian attack (Photo: REUTERS/Thomas Peter)
Mass Russian attack on Ukraine’s energy system has left Rivne, Ternopil, and Khmelnytskyi oblasts almost completely without power, acting Energy Minister Artem Nekrasov wrote on Dec. 23.
He reported outages in Vinnytsia, Chernihiv, Zhytomyr, Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, and Kharkiv oblasts.
"Emergency repair work will begin as soon as the security situation allows," he added.
Energy Ministry noted that Russia carried out its ninth large-scale attack on Ukraine’s power system since the beginning of the year during the night and early morning.
In Odesa Oblast, crews are dealing with the aftermath of several consecutive massive strikes on power infrastructure, significant number of households remain without electricity.
Emergency power outage schedules have been introduced nationwide due to Russian overnight combined barrage.
These emergency shutoffs will be lifted immediately once the situation in the energy system stabilizes, the ministry said.
The attack marked the seventh massive strike on DTEK’s thermal power plants since October.
“In total, since the start of the full-scale invasion, DTEK’s TPPs have been attacked more than 210 times,” the company noted.
As a result of these repeated assaults, 59 energy workers have been injured and four have been killed.
Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko reported that overnight on Dec. 23, Russia launched more than 600 drones and dozens of missiles in its mass attack on Ukraine.
Russia struck Ukraine from multiple directions with strike UAVs, and by early morning with cruise missiles launched from strategic aircraft. Western oblasts and energy facilities were among the primary targets.
Energy Ministry confirmed that Russia’s main objective was Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, which is why emergency outages were introduced across numerous oblasts.
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