Worst day for Ukraine’s power grid since 2022, minister says
Blackout in Kyiv (Photo: REUTERS/Yan Dobronosov)
Ukraine’s power grid experienced its toughest day since the nationwide blackout in November 2022, Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Jan. 22.
The recently appointed minister attributed the strain to damaged power plants, destroyed distribution networks, and harsh weather.
“The situation is extremely difficult,” Shmyhal said.
“Power grid engineers are forced to resort to emergency outages. Ukrenergo [national grid operator], to preserve the integrity of the system, had to implement special emergency outage schedules. The hardest-hit areas are Kyiv, Kyiv Oblast, and Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.”
During the day, 165 repair crews worked to restore central heating to Kyiv apartment buildings, and 83 crews were assigned to the night shift. Russian drone flybys added to the challenges. On Thursday evening, Kyiv marked its 2,000th air raid alert of the war.
“The fatigue and stress from constant [Russian] terrorist attacks are taking a heavy toll,” Shmyhal said, pleading with citizens to not direct their anger over blackouts toward grid repair crews.
“They are true heroes. They do everything they can to restore electricity and heat as quickly as possible.”
He warned that Russia’s bombing campaign runs concurrently with Kremlin misinformation effort which aims to radicalize the public.
On Jan. 20, Russia launched a massive attack on Kyiv with ballistic and cruise missiles. The strikes damaged energy facilities, leaving more than 5,600 buildings, roughly half of the city’s housing stock, without heating.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that as of the morning of Jan. 22, fewer than 3,000 apartment buildings in the city remained without heat.
The military war may be swinging in our favor, but the information war continues.
Just as an army needs soldiers, so does a free society need its journalists to ensure that people have access to honest, trustworthy voices to understand the world around them.
For the past five years, The New Voice of Ukraine has been working tirelessly to push back against Russian narratives and defend democracy. But we cannot do it alone.
Please consider supporting us on Patreon for just $5 a month – your donation does directly to supporting journalists and ensuring that this front of the infowar says solid and defended.
Thank you.
Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google News
