November 25, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

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Power outages have led to blackouts in Kyiv, Ukraine, on November 24. (Zinchenko/Global Images Ukraine/Getty Images)

Power supply to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv will near normal levels by Saturday, according to an adviser to the country’s energy ministry.

Oleksandr Kharchenko, director of the Energy Industry Research Center, said at a briefing that the “key factor” in restoring power in Kyiv and across Ukraine was the operation of the country’s three functional nuclear plants. He said he expected them to be working in normal capacity by Friday night.

“Now the key factor is nuclear power plants. … There is currently a lack of power generation, ” Kharchenko said. “Judging by the situation, our nuclear energy plants will reach their normal planned capacity by tonight. This will mean that we will return to the planned outage schedules and people will receive electricity for at least 16 to 18 hours a day. ”

“The city of Kyiv will have more or less normal electricity coverage tomorrow, ” he added.

Kharchenko did not say when he expected the strength supply to the rest of the country to improve.

Ukraine is heavily dependent on nuclear energy , according to the World Nuclear Association. Before Russia’s full-scale invasion in February, the particular 15 reactors at its four plants generated about half of the nation’s electricity.

Kharchenko went into detail about the impact of Wednesday’s large-scale Russian missile assault upon the energy grid, which he said “returned in order to its integrity and ability to operate as the single system within 10 to 11 hours” of the blackout.

In addition to reconnecting the particular power plants, increasing their own generation capacity and managing the balance of the grid, engineers needed to repair equipment and “step by step” reconnect consumers who had been disconnected, he said.

The attacks damaged or destroyed more than half from the “key equipment” of the high voltage electrical power transmission network, he additional.

“The world will not produce the quantity enough in order to cover Ukrainian needs even within a year. We are now in discussion with all producers associated with such equipment, ” he said.

Kharchenko appealed for generators to mitigate the impact of further strikes.

“We are currently seeking generators of all power levels, from all over the world, to secure our cities in case of blackout, ” he said.

The head associated with the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, has called on cities to donate generators and transformers to help Ukrainians get through the winter.

The US ambassador inside Kyiv said on Fri that USAID had delivered 80 generators to Ukraine “to help keep the power on. ”

Ambassador Bridget Brink tweeted “this support is just one part of the U. S. response to Russia’s cruel, sustained attack on critical infrastructure as we continue to #StandWithUkraine. ”