‘Unprecedented’ power cuts planned in Kyiv

KYIV: “Unprecedented” power cuts will be introduced in the region surrounding Ukraine’s capital Kyiv due to damage caused by Russian strikes on energy infrastructure, the local energy operator said on Friday.

A barrage of Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy grid over the past two weeks has destroyed at least a third of the country’s power facilities ahead of winter.

Authorities have called on Ukrainians to reduce their electricity consumption as much as possible and has introduced scheduled power cuts lasting hours several regions including the capital.

“In order to prevent a complete blackout of the capital and central regions of Ukraine, the state energy company Ukrenergo is introducing unprecedented emergency restrictions,” energy company DTEK said on Facebook.

Ukraine’s energy system has “suffered new damage” and there is a “power deficit equal to 30 per cent of consumption” in Kyiv, it said.

“More severe and longer blackouts will be implemented in the coming days,” the company added.

It quoted the Kyiv region governor Oleksyi Kuleba as saying there might be power cuts “for an indefinite period”.

“The situation remains tense and it is unfortunately too early to talk about the stabilisation of the system,” Kuleba said on social media.

Meanwhile, the United States announced on Friday that it would provide a new $275 million military assistance package for Ukraine to help it battle Russia’s invasion.

The package includes ammunition for Himars precision rocket launchers, various types of 155mm artillery rounds, anti-armor systems, small arms ammunition and four satellite communications antennas, Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told journalists.

“We’re seeing Ukrainian infrastructure and electrical grids being targeted by the Russians and these antennas provide an additional capability on the ground at a critical time when Ukraine’s infrastructure is being hit,” Singh said.

They are not, however, intended as a substitute for the Starlink service provided by Elon Musk’s SpaceX company, and have “nothing to do in terms of access to Starlink”, she said.

Musk said earlier this month that SpaceX could not continue funding Starlink in Ukraine indefinitely, creating uncertainty surrounding a service that has provided a vital communications capability for Kyiv’s forces.

But the world’s richest man quickly reversed course, saying SpaceX will continue to pay even though Starlink is losing money.

The latest aid package brings Washington’s total security assistance commitments for Ukraine to more than $18.5 billion since early 2021, and nearly $18 billion since Russia invaded in February.

The Ukrainian foreign minister told his Iranian counterpart on Friday to “immediately” stop supplying arms to Russia, in the first call between the two officials since Kyiv said Moscow was using Iranian-made drones.