Ukrainians are braced for months of power blackouts after Russian attacks on the country’s power grid have “damaged more than 50 percent of its energy facilities,” according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. One of the country’s energy chiefs has warned blackouts will likely continue “until at least the end of March” and urged Ukrainians to “stock up on warm clothes [and] blankets.”
Sergey Kovalenko, chief executive of private energy provider DTEK Yasno, said in a Facebook post late on Monday that the company is under instructions from Ukraine’s state grid operator to resume emergency blackouts in the areas it covers, including the capital, Kyiv, and the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region. He said: “Although there are fewer blackouts now, I want everyone to understand – most likely, Ukrainians will have to live with blackouts until at least the end of March.
“I think we need to be prepared for different options, even the worst ones. Stock up on warm clothes, blankets, think about what will help you wait out a long shutdown.”
