10 Million People In Ukraine Have No Power: Russian strikes in Ukraine, specifically targeting the country’s energy infrastructure, have left more than 10 million Ukrainian civilians without access to power. The troubling developments come as Ukraine’s temperatures plummet.
Ukrenergo, the country’s electricity transmission system operator, confirmed in a statement that Russian missile strikes, along with an increase in demand, have resulted in frequent blackouts.
“Due to a dramatic drop in temperature, electricity consumption is increasing daily in those regions of Ukraine where power supply has already been restored after massive missile strikes on November 15 on the energy infrastructure,” a statement revealed.
“This complicates the already difficult situation in the energy system.”
How Ukraine Is Dealing With It
As a result, Ukrenergo was forced to implement strategic blackouts, designed to prevent users from draining what is left of the country’s supply of energy.
The move was described as a “necessary measure” to preserve the stability of the nation’s energy system. Ukrenergo also announced that workers were working around the clock to restore all infrastructure damaged in Russian strikes.
Power is also reserved for the most essential purposes, with street lights switched off in many parts of major cities like Kyiv. Local people have reportedly resorted to using flashlights or their cell phones to navigate the city at night.
Traffic lights have also been switched off in some parts of the country, normally during times of the day when the roads are less busy. Ukraine is adapting, but the scale of the damage may ultimately prove too much for many people still living in Ukraine.
Russia Disabled Nearly Half Of Ukraine’s Energy Infrastructure
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shymal said on Friday that almost half of the country’s energy infrastructure has been disabled by Russian missile and drone strikes. Shymal also revealed how much of the damage was caused in a single day, when around 100 Russian missiles hit Ukrainian cities all over the country on November 15.
Russia’s tactic of targeting energy infrastructure emerged in early October after procuring hundreds of Iranian drones and missiles. Russian forces began directing missiles at Ukrainian power plants and substations, interrupting the flow of electricity to homes and businesses.
A combination of Russian missile strikes and the shutting down of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which means a loss of six gigawatts of generation capacity, means Ukraine is facing a tough winter.
As the weather gets colder, and if Russia continues these strikes, Ukraine may see the largest outflow of refugees since the first months of the Russian invasion.
Jack Buckby is 19FortyFive’s Breaking News Editor. He is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York.