In the most recent round of Russian missile attacks on power plants, an underground gas storage (UGS) station in Ukraine was targeted on Sunday. In response, authorities ordered imports, implemented rolling blackouts to make up for the shortages, and restored power to cities.
The attack on the gas storage facility was confirmed by the state-run energy company Naftogaz of Ukraine, but it was also said that consumer gas supplies remained unaffected.
Oleksiy Chernyshov, CEO of Naftogaz, stated that equipment damaged during the strike was being fixed.
Since the gas is kept underground, the scenario won't have a significant effect on UGS operations, Chernyshov stated on Facebook.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy stated that while attempts were being made to restore power supply in some areas, Kharkiv, the second-largest city in Ukraine, was experiencing the most challenges.
Following a recent wave of Russian strikes that caused leading energy producer DTEK to lose 50% of its capacity, Ukraine increased its imports of electricity and stopped exporting it, according to the country's energy ministry and distributors.
The leader of Ukrenergo, which manages the transmission lines in Ukraine, Volodymyr Kudritskyi, stated that the most recent round of strikes had resulted in damage worth at least 90 million euros ($97 million).
Energy facilities in three Ukrainian districts were also attacked early on Sunday. Russia attacked Ukrainian producing and transmission facilities on Friday, resulting in substantial blackouts in numerous locations.
BLACKOUTS AND POWER CUTS
During his nightly video speech on Sunday, Zelenskiy stated that over 200,000 people in Kharkiv, a city that is often attacked by Russia, did not have access to consistent electricity. He said that the network had been restored somewhere else.
According to Zelenskiy, Kharkiv has "strict schedules" for power use. The largest private electricity provider, DTEK, announced that rolling blackouts had been implemented in the port of Odesa.
In a statement, the ministry of energy stated that imports of power are expected to be 14,900 megawatt hours (MWh) today. Exports are not anticipated.
The day before the incident on March 22, Ukraine exported 2,148 MWh and imported 3,300 MWh.
Serhiy Kovalenko, the head of distribution company Yasno, stated on national television that "we can say this information officially" and that "losses (from Friday's attack) have already been assessed and the DTEK group has lost 50% of its generating capacity."
According to Kovalenko, Russia has targeted thermal and hydroelectric plants as well as the generation and distribution components of the energy system.
He claimed that the adversary heavily damaged transformers and grid nodes.
According to the ministry, Russia made an effort on Sunday to strike a vital piece of energy infrastructure located in the western Ukrainian region of Lviv.
After some equipment caught fire, the building lost electricity. The ministry reported that there were no casualties.
Later, Maksym Kozytskyi, the commander of the military administration for the Lviv region, stated that it had taken most of the day for firemen to contain the fire.
According to the ministry, 1,400 homes in two towns had their electricity cut off and there were damage to power lines throughout the Kyiv region.
Chernyshov of Naftogaz stated that his organization was presently attempting to localize and eradicate the effects of the Russian attacks.
About 30 billion cubic meters of gas can be stored in Ukraine, the majority of which is located in the western portion of the nation.
