Russia has destroyed 30 percent of Ukraine’s power stations: Kyiv

In little more than a week, Russian forces have destroyed a third of Ukraine’s power stations in repeated attacks targeting the war-torn nation’s energy infrastructure, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

“Since October 10, 30 percent of Ukraine’s power stations have been destroyed, causing massive blackouts across the country,” Zelenskyy said on Tuesday.

He added there was “no space left for negotiations with (President Vladimir) Putin’s regime”.

Officials in several regions of Ukraine, including Kyiv, reported power cuts after a new round of attacks on Tuesday hit energy facilities.

In the capital, energy operator DTEK said there were “interruptions” to the electricity and water supply to residents of the city’s left bank.

“Engineers are investigating and making all the necessary efforts to restore the power to the city’s residents,” the company said on Facebook.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko called on Ukrainians to save electricity “as much as possible” and avoid using appliances with high energy consumption.

An air attack left the northern city of Zhytomyr, west of Kyiv, without water and electricity supplies, Mayor Serhiy Sukhomlyn said on Facebook.

Hospitals there were working “on backup power supplies”, he said, adding there were no reported casualties.

Meanwhile, Russia has claimed to have hit military targets and energy infrastructure.

Another kind of Russian terrorist attacks: targeting 🇺🇦 energy & critical infrastructure. Since Oct 10, 30% of Ukraine’s power stations have been destroyed, causing massive blackouts across the country. No space left for negotiations with Putin's regime. @United24media pic.twitter.com/LN4A2GYgCK

— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) October 18, 2022

Power cuts were also reported in parts of the Dnipropetrovsk region, in central Ukraine, following a strike on energy infrastructure that caused “fire and serious damage”, Governor Valentyn Reznichenko said.

There were “interruptions” in the water supply on the left bank of Dnipro city, he added, while the neighbouring city of Pavlohrad was without water after a strike on a “critical infrastructure facility”, according to its city council.

In the southern city of Mykolaiv, overnight raids hit a residential building in the central district – killing at least one person – as well as a flower market in the same area.

The power supply was restored there on Tuesday morning.