Russian attacks that took place late on January 7 caused power supply to be almost completely cut off in two southeastern regions of Ukraine, according to a statement from the country's Ministry of Energy.
The Ministry of Energy said that the attacks paralyzed the power grid in Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia, forcing many essential facilities to switch to using backup power.
According to local reports, hospitals and other important locations in the affected area are still operating thanks to the power backup system. Emergency teams have worked overnight to restore power, while handling water source and heating system disruptions.
In a statement posted on Telegram, the Ukrainian Ministry of Energy affirmed that key infrastructure is operating in backup conditions, as the two areas mentioned above are almost without grid electricity. Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba said that repairs in Dnipropetrovsk are being carried out at high intensity, but the priority is still to ensure safety for technical teams.
In Zaporizhzhia, local authorities said they are using alternative power sources to maintain domestic water supply. Russian attacks have long targeted Ukraine's energy network and have recently become more intense.
Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko warned that the upcoming bad weather conditions, with snowfall and night temperatures dropping to minus 20 degrees Celsius, could make power outages more serious. She emphasized that the Ukrainian energy system is constantly subject to attacks from the enemy, while the electricity industry has to work in extremely difficult circumstances to maintain light and heat for people.
The city of Dnipro has experienced widespread power outages, causing the subway to stop operating and many other areas in the region to be affected. The government has decided to extend the school holiday for another 2 days, in the context that it is not yet possible to determine when the power source will be completely restored.
Mr. Oleksandr Vilkul, head of the military government in Kryvyi Rih, the hometown of President Volodymyr Zelensky, said the situation is particularly difficult in the two districts, where repair teams are making efforts to restore electricity and are called upon to use generators to the maximum.
Ukrainian railways announced that trains and signal systems in 2 areas have switched to backup mode, while stations operate by generators.
Zaporizhzhia Governor Ivan Fedorov said that the power outage prevented air strike alarms from signaling, although electricity has been restored at some key facilities and people are asked to limit the use of mobile networks that are in a state of emergency.
