Ahmed Kamel – Egypt Daily News
Ukraine’s national power grid has come to a complete standstill following a new wave of large-scale Russian attacks that targeted key energy infrastructure across the country. State-owned energy company Centrenergo announced on Saturday that all government-operated thermal power plants have been shut down, leaving the nation without any domestic electricity generation.
In a statement cited by Russia Today, the company said, “All state thermal power plants in Ukraine have been closed, and there is currently no capacity for electricity generation.” The unprecedented blackout marks one of the most severe disruptions to Ukraine’s power system since the start of the full-scale war in 2022.
Massive Overnight Assault on Energy Infrastructure
According to Ukraine’s Minister of Energy, Svitlana Hrynchuk, Russian forces launched an extensive assault late Friday night into early Saturday, striking multiple energy facilities across several regions. “The enemy has once again launched a massive attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure,” Hrynchuk wrote in a Facebook post. “Because of this, emergency power outages have been introduced in a number of regions.”
The minister assured citizens that power would be restored once “the energy system stabilizes,” but did not provide a specific timeframe.
Regional officials reported a series of strikes by drones and missiles on vital energy installations. Oleg Kiper, governor of the southern Odesa region, said that drone attacks late Friday damaged one energy infrastructure facility, though no casualties were reported. “There were no fatalities or injuries, but the damage is significant,” Kiper wrote on Telegram.
Kyiv Appeals for Urgent International Support
President Volodymyr Zelensky reiterated his call for urgent international assistance to strengthen Ukraine’s air defenses and protect critical infrastructure from continuing Russian bombardment.
In a video address from Kyiv earlier this week, Zelensky emphasized that “air defense systems and the protection of energy facilities remain our top priority amid ongoing Russian attacks.” He praised the efforts of energy workers, repair teams, and civil defense units who are “working tirelessly to restore power to affected regions every day after strikes.”
The president also highlighted that Russian attacks continue along the frontlines in Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, and Mykolaiv, underscoring the sustained pressure on both the military and civilian sectors. “International support must move as quickly as our local authorities do,” he added.
The Most Destructive Attack Since the Start of the War
Ukraine’s energy center described the latest bombardment as the most destructive assault on the thermal power network since the beginning of the war. The attacks involved an “unprecedented number of missiles and countless drones,” specifically targeting facilities that had only recently been rebuilt after devastating strikes in 2024.
According to Ukrainian officials, Russian forces employed advanced precision weapons, including Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, in coordinated attacks on energy plants, gas infrastructure, and components of Ukraine’s defense-industrial complex.
The scale of the damage has left Ukraine facing one of its gravest energy crises to date, with restoration efforts underway “around the clock,” according to government sources.
While authorities are working to stabilize the grid and import emergency electricity supplies from neighboring European countries, the blackout underscores the vulnerability of Ukraine’s energy sector and the increasingly sophisticated tactics in Russia’s campaign to cripple it.
