Ukraine blackouts worsen after months of Russian strikes

AFP |  Kyiv

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Ukraine faced severe energy shortages yesterday in a week that saw parts of the capital Kyiv and several regions plunge into darkness due to relentless Russian strikes on energy infrastructure.

Crippling attacks on power plants have forced emergency blackouts to preserve limited electricity supplies and ensure that critical industries and infrastructure can stay online.

“Electricity consumption limits are in effect in all regions of Ukraine throughout the day,” state power operator Ukrenergo said.

The firm said it had to apply a three-hour blackout late Thursday in around a dozen regions from Donetsk and Kharkiv on the eastern front lines to Lviv and Zakarpattia, some 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) to the west on the border with the EU.

In Kyiv, street lights and buildings were disconnected and parts of the city were in darkness on Thursday. Ukrenergo chairman Volodymyr Kudrytsky said it could take “years” for Ukraine to restore its full generating capacity.

“We are dealing with an absolutely unprecedented scale of destruction,” he said, adding that the capacity of thermal power plants was at a “historic” low with “virtually no hydroelectric power plant that has not been damaged.”