Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy advised citizens with power connectivity to use energy sparingly to avoid emergency blackouts. The war-wrecked country is making efforts to restore the energy infrastructure which was targeted by Russia during recent airstrikes on the country.
In his nightly address, Zelenskyy said, “ Blackouts continue in most regions and in Kyiv. In total, more than six million subscribers. Almost 12 million subscribers were disconnected from the grid on Wednesday evening.”
He added that most of the problems were currently in the capital of Ukraine, as well as in Kyiv region, Odesa region, Lviv region, Vinnytsia region and Dnipropetrovsk region.
“Please, it is necessary to consume electricity sparingly in all regions, as before. If you don't have a power outage, it doesn't mean the problem is over. Please, if you have electricity, this does not mean that you can turn on several powerful electrical appliances at once,” Zelenskyy said.
“From Wednesday to today we have managed to halve the number of people whose electricity is cut off, to stabilize the system,” Zelenskyy said.
“Spiked power draws are recorded every evening, which cause an increase in emergency blackouts. Now, as before, it is necessary to save energy,” he said.
Ukrainian authorities endeavoured on Saturday to restore electricity and water services after recent pummelling by Russian military strikes that vastly damaged infrastructure. Skirmishes continued in the east and residents from the southern city of Kherson headed north and west to flee after punishing, deadly bombardments by Russian forces in recent days.
The strikes have been seen as attempts at Russian retribution against Ukraine's beleaguered but defiant people after Ukrainian troops over two weeks ago liberated the city that had been in Russian hands for many months.
"Please pay attention; Kyiv residents need more protection," he said. As of this evening, 6,00,000 subscribers have been disconnected in the city. “Many Kyiv residents were without electricity for more than 20 or even 30 hours.” "I expect quality work from the mayor's office,” he said, alluding to the administration of Mayor Vitali Klitschko.
Early on Saturday, the Kyiv municipal administration said water connections had been restored throughout the city, but that about 1,30,000 residents remain without electricity.
City authorities said on Saturday morning that all power, water, heating and communication services would be restored within 24 hours.
(With PTI inputs)
