Russian attacks leave consumers without power in nine Ukrainian regions

Russian attacks on the morning of 2 November caused fresh electricity outages for consumers in nine Ukrainian regions, according to information from the Ministry of Energy and Ukrenergo, the country's state-owned electricity transmission operator. The disruptions came as restrictions continued following both new and earlier attacks.

The affected regions were Vinnytsia, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Odesa, Kirovohrad, Rivne, Cherkasy and Kharkiv. Artem Nekrasov, Ukraine's First Deputy Minister of Energy, addressed the attacks at a ministry briefing. He said: "Over the past 24 hours, Russia has continued its targeted and systematic attacks on energy facilities."

In some parts of Ukraine, rolling blackouts were being used in response to the cumulative effects of the attacks. These scheduled interruptions are intended to balance the electricity grid and maintain stable operation. The restrictions reflect the effects of previous strikes as well as the latest attacks on the energy system.

Emergency power outages were also being applied in some regions on 2 November. Kyiv and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts continued to face the most difficult electricity supply situation. Dnipropetrovsk was also among the nine regions where the morning attacks had caused new outages for consumers.

The Ministry of Energy urged residents to follow information issued by their regional electricity distribution operators. Those updates provide the latest blackout schedules and details of changes to electricity supply. The ministry directed people to these local operators for information about the restrictions affecting their areas.

Ukrenergo said electricity consumption on Monday morning was 1.6% below the level recorded on Friday, 30 October. The transmission operator attributed the decrease to restrictions introduced after Russian attacks. Its comparison covered morning consumption on the two days, against the backdrop of continuing interruptions to electricity supply.

The operator also asked consumers to reduce their use of high-power appliances during the evening peak, from 16:00 to 22:00. It said limiting demand during that period would help avoid overloading the electricity grid and prevent breakdowns, alongside the supply restrictions already being used to keep the system stable.

The latest disruptions followed a week of repeated attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure. Between 26 October and 1 November, Russia deliberately targeted the country's energy and oil and gas sectors 94 times. The new outages on Monday extended the effects of those attacks into the following week.