The Ukrainian government on Thursday placed restrictions on electricity usage nationwide following a barrage of Russian attacks on power plants just before the winter sets in.
Power supply will be restricted between 7 am and 11pm, government officials and grid operator Ukrenergo said, while temporary blackouts are possible if people do not minimise their use of electricity.
The curbs on energy usage are the first introduced since Russia’s invasion and are initially limited to Thursday.
The BBC reports that Ukrainians have been urged to stock up on water, ensure they have “warm socks and blankets”, and charge all phones, torches and power banks.
“We do not exclude that with the onset of cold weather we will be asking for your help even more frequently”, Ukrenergo said.
Russia has intensified its missile and drone attacks on Ukraine’s power and water infrastructure in recent days.
“There is new damage to critical infrastructure. Three energy facilities were destroyed by the enemy today,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his Wednesday night video address.
“We assume that Russian terror will be directed at energy facilities until, with the help of partners, we are able to shoot down 100 per cent of enemy missiles and drones,” said Zelensky, who earlier in the week said a third power station had been hit by Russian air strikes, meaning 30 per cent of stations had been hit.
“Tomorrow, October 20, electricity supply restrictions will be introduced throughout all of Ukraine. Today the enemy has destroyed power generating facilities again,” Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of Mr Zelensky’s office, said on messaging service Telegram on Wednesday.
“Starting from 7 am to 11 pm, it is necessary to minimize the use of electricity ... if this is not done, you should prepare for temporary blackouts,” he wrote, adding that street lighting in cities would be limited. “These are forced measures.”
Ukrainian grid operator Ukrenergo later said that the planned power cut would be limited to Thursday and cited a lack of capacity in the system.
“We do not exclude that with the onset of a cold weather we will be asking for your help even more frequently,” Ukrenergo said in a post on Telegram.
Earlier in the day, a Russian missile strike hit a major thermal power station in the city of Burshtyn in western Ukraine, the region’s governor said.
The mayor of the western city of Lviv said on television that it would take months to repair power substations that have been damaged in recent days.
The city announced possible disruptions to electricity supply while repairs were made.
“We will have to turn off the lights - this is a forced measure, we have to economise,” said mayor Andriy Sadovyi.
