By Burc Eruygur
ISTANBUL (AA) - Ukraine's power grid operator Ukrenergo said on Monday that it has introduced emergency shutdowns in the country’s southwestern Odesa region after two of its substations were attacked in an overnight Russian drone attack.
“Due to damage to the equipment in Odesa and the Odesa region, the power industry has been forced to increase consumption restriction periods,” the operator said on Telegram.
Indicating that the decision was taken to protect the equipment that is functioning beyond its capacity, which it said can cause additional damage.
Ukraine’s private energy provider DTEK said on Telegram that one of the high-voltage power facilities of Ukrenergo was damaged overnight, due to which residents of the city’s Peresypskyi district did not have access to electricity.
“Energy workers have already managed to restore power supply to critical infrastructure facilities. However, the situation remains difficult. In Odesa and the Odesa district, emergency shutdowns are used,” it said.
Ukraine's Air Force said that eight out of nine drones launched by Russia from the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow illegally annexed in 2014, were downed over the Odesa and Mykolaiv regions.
Russian authorities have not yet commented on the attack.