KYIV: Large parts of Ukraine were plunged into darkness on Wednesday after Russian strikes targeted the country’s energy infrastructure, forcing emergency power cuts across nearly all regions, the national grid operator Ukrenergo said.
The latest wave of attacks comes as Russia intensifies strikes on Ukraine’s energy and railway networks ahead of winter, raising fears that millions could be left without power in freezing temperatures.
“Due to the difficult situation in Ukraine’s energy system, emergency power cuts have been introduced in all regions except Donetsk,” Ukrenergo said in a statement on Telegram. The Donetsk region, in eastern Ukraine, remains the centre of ongoing fighting.
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Power restrictions were already in place across eight regions on Tuesday, following nationwide outages last week. Ukrenergo added that “emergency repair work is underway in all affected regions” and urged citizens to conserve electricity.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Moscow of attempting to sow chaos with the repeated strikes, which have also disrupted the gas supply sector.
In response, Ukraine has continued to target Russian oil refineries and energy pipelines with drone attacks — a strategy that has contributed to a sharp rise in fuel prices across Russia since the summer.