Ukrenergo: Hourly blackouts scheduled in Kyiv and 7 oblasts

State-owned grid operator Ukrenergo said on Nov. 5 that another hourly blackout schedule had been introduced in seven oblasts across the country and the capital Kyiv. The seven regions include Kyiv, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Cherkasy, Zhytomyr, Sumy, and Poltava oblasts.

“The consumption limits are necessary to… avoid repeated accidents after the power grids were damaged by Russian rocket and drone attacks,” Ukrenergo said in a Facebook post.

In an interview with the Guardian published on Nov. 1, Ukrenergo Head Volodymyr Kudrytskyi said that Russian attacks have hit “virtually all” large non-nuclear power stations in Ukraine and that the “impact is huge.” 

Since mid-October, Russia has ramped up its attacks on Ukraine’s energy facilities using missiles and kamikaze drones. President Volodymyr Zelensky previously said on Nov. 1 that Russia had destroyed “30-40% of its energy system” in Ukraine.