Ukraine scrambles for energy after Russian attacks

KYIV:

Ukrainian crews scrambled Sunday to repair damage caused by one of the most devastating Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Moscow, which has escalated attacks on Ukraine’s infrastructure in recent months, launched hundreds of drones at energy facilities across the country overnight into Saturday.

“Repair crews are working almost around the clock in most regions,” Zelensky said in his evening address. “Restoration efforts are ongoing, and although the situation is difficult, thousands of people are involved in stabilising the system and repairing the damage,” he said.

The situation was most difficult in the northeastern Kharkiv and Sumy regions, as well as in central Poltava.

Around 100,000 clients were without electricity, water and heating in the Kharkiv region, Restoration Minister Oleksiy Kuleba said.

In the Poltava region, one of the most affected, power was mostly restored on Sunday but damaged equipment left parts of its main city still in the dark, local authorities said.

Scheduled power cuts, implemented by state grid operator Ukrenergo to balance the system, will remain in place on Monday in most Ukrainian regions.

Ukraine’s energy minister Svitlana Grynchuk said the wave of attacks, which killed four people, marked “one of the most difficult nights” for Ukrainian energy since the Russian invasion began in February 2022.

Russia has targeted the power and heating grid throughout its almost four-year invasion, destroying a large part of the key civilian infrastructure.

‘Complicates restoration’ 
Moscow has switched tactics, striking simultaneously generation facilities as well as power transmission and distribution systems, said deputy energy minister Artem Nekrasov.

“This complicates the prompt restoration of normal power supply and the normal operation of the energy system,” he said.

Zelensky said Russian forces had “increased their attacks, enhancing their strike power by using more ballistic missiles”.

As with previous waves of attacks, Russia’s defence ministry said it struck “enterprises of the Ukrainian military-industrial complex and gas and energy facilities that support their operation”.