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Russian rocket attacks have led to the imposition of emergency blackouts across Ukraine, reported electricity transmission operator Ukrenerho. Almost all of Kyiv was left without power and water, wrote mayor Vitaly Klitschko. Several areas in neighboring Moldova were also left without electricity due to the missile strikes.
“Kyivvodokanal specialists are working to restore the [water supply] as quickly as possible. Please stock up on water just in case,” Klitschko said. Russia’s missiles struck Kyiv’s thermal power plant No. 6 (TPP-6) and the hydroelectric power plant.
“The rocket attack is still going on, but there are already hits on energy infrastructure. Emergency shutdowns are underway in all regions,” Ukrenerho said in a statement.
Three people were killed and six injured when a two-story building in Kyiv was struck by a Russian missile, the city administration said.
The Kyiv metro was partially stalled and all electric transport was stopped in Kharkiv, with people being evacuated from the subway, said Mayor Ihor Terekhov. After the strikes, Lviv, Sumy, Kryvyi Rih, Zaporizhzhia, Odesa, Lutsk, Mykolayiv, Kharkiv and Dnipro were also de-energized.
According to local Odesa publication Dumskaya, there have been reports about the emergency shutdown of power units at the South Ukrainian Nuclear Power Plant. This information has not yet been officially confirmed.
Ukrenerho reported that there will be no light in Ukraine for about a day.
The strikes led to power outages in some areas of neighboring Moldova and Transnistria. The Moldovan capital, Chisinau, was left without electricity. Several reports have stated that the outages have led to a traffic collapse.
Moldovan President Maia Sandu commented on the blackout:
“Russia left Moldova in the dark. Russia's war in Ukraine is killing people, destroying housing blocks and energy infrastructure with missiles. Attacks continue in Ukraine. People are pulling their wounded out from under the rubble. And they mourn their dead loved ones. People's lives cannot be turned back.
But the power supply can be restored. We will solve the technical problems and we will have light again. All government institutions are working on this.
We cannot trust a regime that leaves us in the dark and cold, that deliberately kills people simply to keep other peoples in poverty and humiliation. However difficult it may be now, our only path, the future path of the Republic of Moldova, must remain towards the free world.”