Written by: Basant El-Farmawy
Energy facilities in multiple regions of Ukraine were subjected to widespread attacks, leading to power cuts for tens of thousands of homes. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that Russian forces targeted electrical substations in the Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, Khmelnytskyi, and Odesa regions during the evening of October 17, which also resulted in the deaths of two people and 12 injuries as a result of the airstrikes.
Intensive targeting of oil, gas, and electricity facilities
Zelenskyy explained that Russia launched 76 attacks targeting Ukrainian electricity, oil, and gas facilities within a single week, despite statements regarding a ceasefire in the energy sector. Over the past week, Russian forces launched about 2,700 attack drones, more than 1,700 aerial bombs, and 66 missiles, with most targets focused on energy infrastructure.
Emergency outages in Kyiv and Odesa
The airstrikes targeting the facilities from the night of October 17 until the morning of October 18 led to emergency power outages in several cities and regions, including Kyiv, Kyiv Oblast, Odesa, and Chernihiv (referred to as جيرنوبول). In the Odesa region, military administrative official Kiper stated that the attacks caused power outages for 24,000 households.
Energy companies' measures to deal with the crisis
The major private energy company DTEK announced that it implemented emergency power outage plans in parts of Kyiv Oblast based on instructions from the national electricity company, with outage periods in various neighborhoods ranging from one and a half to 7 hours. The Dniprovskyi district in the city of Kyiv also witnessed an emergency power outage on the morning of October 18, with work continuing to restore supplies.
