KYIV, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Ukraine’s energy situation had “significantly” worsened on Friday morning after recent Russian air attacks, triggering emergency power outages in most regions, Kyiv’s grid operator said.
The dire assessment followed a remark by Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal on Thursday that the country’s energy system had endured its most difficult day since a widespread blackout in November 2022, when Russia began attacking the power grid.
Moscow has stepped up strikes in recent weeks, further damaging already battered infrastructure and leaving large swathes of the population without power and heating during a cold snap.
Several power generation facilities are undergoing emergency repairs as a result of the combined attacks, Ukrenergo said on the Telegram messaging app.
“The equipment is operating at the limits of its capabilities,” it said, adding that power blocks were carrying a “tremendous” overload due to earlier damage from Russian strikes.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy declared an energy emergency last week.
Ukrenergo said it hoped repairs would be completed in “the near future”, which would enable a return to planned outages.
(Reporting by Yuliia Dysa; Writing by Dan Peleschuk and Anna Pruchnicka; Editing by Daniel Flynn)
