Blackout in Sumy Oblast's Konotop enters fourth day with no end in sight
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The Ukrainian city of Konotop, in Sumy Oblast, is suffering its fourth consecutive day without power, following a massive Russian attack on Oct. 24, Konotop Mayor Artem Semenikhin said in a statement on Oct. 27.
There are currently "no forecasts" for the return of the city's electricity supply, Semenikhin said.
The sustained blackout follows a series of Russian drone strikes on 24. Oct, which heavily damaged the city's electrical grid.
“Schools have been damaged, and even our hospital is currently running on generators. It was a treacherous strike on civilian infrastructure in the middle of the night," Semenikhin said in an interview on Oct. 26.
Water is currently being heavily rationed in the city, with supplies only available for six hours per day, Semenikhin said. "Water is being supplied according to a schedule: from 6:00 am to 9:00 a.m. and from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.,” he said.
While Russia’s attacks on Ukraine’s energy system have been ongoing throughout the year at a low level, Moscow has recently ramped up mass attacks to wipe out power plants, substations, and gas infrastructure for its fifth winter offensive during the full-scale invasion.
Ukraine is in a vulnerable position. In just the week of Oct. 5-11, there were around 200 hits on power sector facilities and 17 on the oil and gas sector, the Energy Ministry’s press department told the Kyiv Independent. And Ukraine lacks critical air defense against Moscow’s expanding arsenal, energy specialists told the Kyiv Independent.
The recent attacks have already left hundreds of thousands of citizens in Kyiv and front-line regions suffering power and water outages.
"The overall pattern is systematic: the strikes damage the network, force emergency restrictions, and slow down repairs, especially when crews cannot work safely during air-raid alerts," Viktoria Gryb, a lawmaker and head of the parliament’s subcommittee on energy security, told the Kyiv Independent.
