Ukraine faces new blackouts – latest in war

Nationwide blackout planned

Ukraine will begin nationwide power outages this morning following Russia's latest attacks on energy infrastructure. To this end, the national electricity supplier Ukrenerho announced in advance the schedule of power outages in various regions, which will then be without power for several hours. Despite Ukraine's extensive preparations to protect its infrastructure from attacks, the Russian military managed to penetrate the shields with missiles and combat drones on Sunday night.

According to Ukerenejo's announcement, the power outage will begin in the morning. The company announced via Telegram that there will be two long-lasting power outages in different areas between 6:00 am and 10:00 pm (5:00 am and 9:00 pm CET). Citizens are asked not to turn on multiple high-power appliances at the same time. It is unclear whether restrictions will be implemented in the coming days.

Nuclear power plants are restricted

For safety reasons, Ukraine has reduced the power generation of its nuclear power plants. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi said in Vienna that this was a precautionary measure.

The nuclear facility was not directly hit, but the nuclear power plants connected to it were. Currently, only two of the nine operating reactors are operating at full capacity, Grossi said after speaking with the head of Ukraine's regulator. “The country's energy infrastructure is extremely fragile, and this has direct implications for nuclear security,” Grossi said.

IAEA chef Rafael Grossi.Image: trapezoid

EU Borrell calls for more help

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell condemned the attacks, which terrorize civilians and destroy Ukraine's energy infrastructure ahead of winter. “Ukraine needs more air defense,” he wrote on the X platform, announcing that he would raise the priority at the next meeting of the EU's Council of Foreign Affairs and Defense Ministers.

basic bomb alert

Rocket warnings were triggered again overnight in Kiev, the Ukrainian capital, and in many regions of Ukraine. “Threat of use of ballistic weapons,” the Ukrainian Air Force warned on the Telegram platform. The alarm was lifted early in the morning. It was not initially known whether the missile actually flew into the area or whether the target was hit.

Russia has sounded the alarm

Drone alerts were triggered in several regions of Russia during the night. Ukrainian Governor Alexander Bogomas said 26 Ukrainian drones were shot down by air defense forces near Bryansk, state agency TASS reported. Alerts were also sounded in Tula and Voronezh, nearly 200 kilometers south of Moscow. However, no attacks or shootings were reported in these areas.

Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said a drone was shot down by air defense forces in the Ramenskoye suburb southeast of the capital and in the Pvalovo-Posatsky region to the east. The falling debris did not cause any damage, TASS quoted him as saying. (DAB/Sudan Development Authority/Department of Political Affairs)