Outages will be most severe in the Kyiv region, as teams work to repair damaged infrastructure in freezing conditions.


Ukrainians face more blackouts in frigid conditions after renewed Russian assaults on key infrastructure [Shannon Stapleton/Reuters]

Ukraine has warned of more emergency blackouts, particularly in the Kyiv region, after a wave of Russian missile attacks damaged energy infrastructure that had only just been repaired.

The barrage of missiles, which plunged parts of Ukraine back into freezing darkness with temperatures below 0C (32F), was the latest in weeks of attacks hitting critical infrastructure.

At least four people were killed, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video address late on Monday, adding that most of the estimated 70 missiles had been shot down.

"In many regions, there will have to be emergency blackouts," Zelenskyy said. "We will be doing everything to restore stability."

The national electricity provider Ukrenergo said on Telegram that there would be renewed power cuts in all regions of Ukraine "due to the consequences of shelling".

About half of the Kyiv region - which does not include the capital and had a population of about 1.8 million before the war - will be without electricity in the coming days, the region's governor said.

The attack caused damage to power plants in the regions of Kyiv and Vinnytsia in central Ukraine, Odesa in the south and Sumy in the north, officials said.

Nearly half of Ukraine's energy system has already been damaged after months of raids on power infrastructure, leaving people in the cold and dark for hours at a time.

The country had only just returned on Monday to scheduled power outages rather than the emergency blackouts it has suffered since November 23, the most intense day of Russian attacks on energy infrastructure.

Ukraine says such attacks are aimed at civilians and constitute war crimes; Moscow denies targeting civilians.

The United States said it would convene a virtual meeting on Thursday with oil and gas executives to discuss how it can support Ukrainian energy infrastructure, according to a letter seen by the Reuters news agency.


Residents charge their devices, use the internet and get warm at a ‘Point of Invincibility' in Kherson, Ukraine. The mobile centres are designed to help people struggling without heat or power [Anatolii Stepanov/AFP]

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