KYIV, Ukraine ( Associated Press) – Widespread blackouts in Ukraine could last until March, one of the country’s energy officials has warned, as the population braces for a harsh winter after weeks of ongoing Russian attacks on the power grid.
Private power company DTEK Yasno has been instructed by the state grid operator to resume emergency shutdowns in its areas of activity, including the capital Kyiv and the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, the director general said late Monday. On Facebook.
“Although there are fewer blackouts now, I want everyone to understand: Ukrainians will have to live with blackouts at least until the end of March,” Kovalenko warned.
“I think we have to be prepared for different options, even the worst. Stock up on warm clothes, blankets, think about what will help you endure longer blackouts,” he told the Ukrainian population. said in a message.
For weeks, Russia has been hitting Ukraine’s energy grid and other infrastructure with air strikes. That rift caused massive power outages and left millions of people without power, water or heat.
Subzero temperatures are common during winters in the country. Authorities have begun evacuating civilians from newly-liberated areas in the southern regions of Kherson and Mykolaiv, fearing that winter will be difficult to survive.
Kovalenko said that even if there were no more Russian attacks, scheduled power cuts across the country would be needed to ensure that power was distributed evenly across the damaged grid.
Russian missiles have damaged more than 50% of the country’s energy facilities, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, and the World Health Organization warned millions of people are facing a cold that could put their lives at risk .
Fighting for the area continues despite worsening weather, with Ukrainian forces pressuring Russian positions within a counter-offensive launched several weeks ago, while Moscow forces maintain their missile and artillery attacks.
In a significant battlefield milestone, a Ukrainian official acknowledged that Kyiv forces are attacking Russian positions at Cape Kinburn, which provides access to the Black Sea, and parts of the Kherson region that remain under Russian control.
Despite the information blackout regarding the operation, Natalya Lyumnyuk, a spokeswoman for the Ukrainian military’s Southern Operational Command, said in televised remarks that Ukrainian forces “continue a military operation” in the area.
The end of the Kinburn Peninsula is the last outpost maintained by Russia in the southern Ukrainian region of Mykolaiv, west of Gershon. Ukrainian forces recently liberated other areas of the Gershon and Mykolaiv regions.
Moscow has used the site as a base for missile and artillery strikes against Ukrainian positions in Mykolaiv province and other Kyiv-controlled positions on the Black Sea coast.
In a major breakthrough, Ukraine recently recaptured the city of Kherson and its surrounding areas on the west bank of the Dnieper River.
Capturing Cape Kinburn could help push Ukrainian forces into territory that Russia still controls in the Kherson region “under significantly less Russian artillery fire” than attempting a direct crossing of the Dnieper River said on Monday. tank.
The Institute for the Study of War said control of the area would help Kyiv reduce Russian attacks on southern Ukrainian ports and allow it to increase its naval activities in the Black Sea.
For their part, Ukrainian officials on Tuesday reported Russian attacks in several areas of the country: in eastern Donetsk, where the fighting is concentrated; in northern Sumy, which borders Russia, and in southeastern Dnipropetrovsk.
In the partially occupied Donetsk region, the town of Avdiivka was the most affected by the attacks, the region’s governor, Pavlo Kirilenko, said in a telegram.
The city received several hits during the night and an intense barrage of artillery at dawn. According to the governor, there is no information about any casualty.
The governor of the Sumy region, Dmitro Zhivitsky, said a total of 86 shells were fired into the region overnight. Russian army fired mortars on many cities. There is also no information about any casualty.
In Dnipropetrovsk, the towns of Nikopol and Marhanets were hit by about 60 shells overnight, said Governor Valentin Reznichenko.
No casualties were reported and the governor did not provide details on the extent of the damage.
