Ukraine’s state-owned electricity operator Ukrenergo warned Wednesday that there is a «strong deficit» in the country’s electricity supply due to shelling by the Russian army and said the situation remains «complicated,» especially in and around Kiev.
«Right now there is a significant deficit in the electricity system. The situation in the central region, in particular, remains difficult. There are also restrictions caused by damage to the main power grids due to systematic missile and drone attacks,» the company said in a statement released via Telegram.
For this reason, it has indicated that it has had to «set limits on consumption in all regions of the country» and warned that «excesses could lead to emergency restrictions.» «Not all types of electric generators are working,» he pointed out.
Thus, Ukrenergo has reported that there have been new attacks on areas in the east and south of the region that had already been «recaptured by Ukrainian forces.» As a result, several electricity grids have also been damaged, although repair work has already begun.
CONSEQUENCES FOR THE POPULATION The NGO Amnesty International has denounced the power cuts as «devastating» and «undermining civilian life» as the Christmas vacations approach. «Children cannot go to school, there are food shortages due to lack of electricity, unheated buildings and danger of fires,» the organization said in a statement.
It called on Russia to «put an end to these illegal attacks targeting civilian infrastructure, endangering the lives of civilians in freezing temperatures».
«As many countries around the world enter a festive period and their streets are covered in Christmas lights, the world must remember Ukraine, which continues to be deliberately plunged into darkness through illegal attacks,» said Denis Krivoshiv, Amnesty’s deputy director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
Krivoshiv said Ukrainian civilians «not only have to deal with the loss of human life but suffer the consequences of criminal tactics that are specifically designed to increase human suffering.»
«Russia’s attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, which have continued for months, prevent civilians from accessing education, healthcare and food,» he has warned.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
