Ukraine announces: Rolling blackout today
Ukraine will face rolling blackouts on June 19 to ensure power supply after Russia launched an attack on Ukrainian power plants, the operator of the country's national grid said, AFP reported on June 18.
Kiev says a series of missile and drone strikes by Russia on Ukrainian thermal and hydroelectric plants has cut Ukrainian electricity production in half compared with last year.
The Ukrainian State Electricity Company announced on the 18th: "All regional power distribution companies will implement hourly power outages for industrial and household users from 00:00 to 24:00 on the 19th."
The announcement represents a significant expansion of the blackouts: officials had previously worked to limit them to certain hours, mainly in the afternoon.
The state power company said it forecast an increase in electricity consumption across the country due to rising temperatures. It also said critical infrastructure would not be affected.
Ukraine has been forced to increase imports of electricity from neighboring EU countries to make up for the power gap and has called on allies to help revive its struggling energy sector.
Kiev also called on allies to strengthen Ukraine's air defenses to protect critical infrastructure from Russian missile and drone attacks.
Ukraine's state power company warned this week that blackouts could get worse in the coming weeks, and officials said repairs to damaged power plants could take years and cost billions of dollars.
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