People charge their phones and gadgets at the Point of Invincibility, deployed due to a power outage after Russian drone attack on 1 October in Slavutych, Ukraine.
Glib Goroshynsky/Suspilne Ukraine/JSC “UA:PBC”/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images
Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure forced emergency power cuts across most of the country on Wednesday, grid operator Ukrenergo said, an extension of controls already put in place on Tuesday.
Russia has stepped up strikes on Ukraine’s energy and rail networks as winter approaches, raising fears that millions of people could be without power in freezing temperatures.
“Because of the complicated situation for Ukraine’s energy system, emergency electricity cuts have been imposed in all regions” except for Donetsk in the east, the centre of most of the fighting, Ukrenergo posted on Telegram.
Cuts had already been implemented in eight Ukrainian regions on Tuesday, following several imposed across the country last week.
“Emergency repair work is under way in all the regions affected by the bombardments,” Ukrenergo said, urging people to use electricity “sparingly”.
READ | Russian drone kills French photojournalist in eastern Ukraine, first such attack on reporter
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Moscow of trying to sow chaos with the strikes, which have also harmed the gas sector.
Ukraine regularly targets oil refineries and hydrocarbon pipelines in Russia with drones, a strategy that has caused fuel prices in the country to surge since the summer.
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