Nearly 500,000 people were left without power in Odessa over a fire that broke out at an overloaded electrical substation, a big blow to the country’s ailing energy grid attacked by Russia for weeks.
The energy ministry was ordered to take high-power generators to the port city as the government appealed to Turkey for help, warning that repairs could take weeks.
Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, the CEO of the state grid operator says equipment that had already been damaged several times by Russian missile attacks burst into flames when it could no longer withstand the load as he warned that more Russian drone or missile attacks could make it worse.
He promised to do everything to improve the power supply in days rather than weeks.
Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Telegram that the substation had been repeatedly damaged due to Russian missile attacks while Odessa governor Maksym Marchenko described the accident as serious.
Ukraine’s foreign ministry was ordered to appeal to Turkey to send power ships – vessels that carry power plants – to come to the city’s aid as the temperature in Odesa stood at 2C° on Saturday and is expected to fall below zero next week.
Kudrytskyi said the city’s critical infrastructure facilities were now being supplied with power.
Fire On Odesa’s Grid Leaves Ukraine Power Substation On The Brink
I'm a senior member at Forsige covering topics on diplomacy and foreign policy relating to Asia and the World.