'Massive Blackouts' Coming, Ukrainians Told to 'Charge Everything'

Power outages of up to 4 hours at a time start Thursday in aftermath of Russian airstrikes
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 20, 2022 12:01 AM CDT
'Charge Everything' in Advance of 'Massive Blackouts,' Ukrainians Told
In this handout photo released by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2022, A Russian warship launches missiles at a target in Ukraine.   (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

Russian missiles have been hitting power facilities in Ukraine for 10 days now, and on Wednesday, Ukrainians were warned by the country's national energy company to "charge everything" in preparation for power outages of up to four hours at a time starting Thursday and affecting the entire country. Sporadic outages have already been impacting Kyiv and other regions, the BBC reports. In addition to charging phones, power banks, flashlights, and the like, Ukrainians were urged to have lots of water and "warm socks and blankets and hugs for family and friends." According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, 30% of power stations in the country have been destroyed by Russian air strikes since Oct. 10, the Guardian reports. He says "massive blackouts" are coming as a result, CNN reports.

"Tomorrow we will apply controlled, calculated consumption restrictions, which we have to do, to ensure the system functions in a balanced way," the energy company said in a statement, urging Ukrainians to check their regional network operator's website to see when they might be affected. The outages could happen anytime between 7am and 10pm, the company says. It also asked Ukrainians to reduce evening power usage, and warned that with colder weather coming, they may need to do even more to help with the power situation. The past week and a half has seen more Russian strikes on Ukrainian energy plants than had been seen in the entire invasion thus far. Western leaders have condemned the strikes on infrastructure, with the EU commission president referring to them as war crimes and Zelensky calling them terrorist attacks. (More Ukraine stories.)

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