Ukrainians told to 'charge everything' as power grid hit by Russia

Ukraine's national energy company has urged citizens to "charge everything" by 07:00 (04:00 GMT) Thursday because of expected power cuts caused by Russian missile strikes.

Energy plants were hit by Russian missiles again on Wednesday - part of a wave of such strikes since 10 October.

Outages of up to four hours at a time will affect the whole country on Thursday, grid operator Ukrenergo said.

It comes as Russia declares martial law in areas of Ukraine it has annexed.

Heightened security measures have also come into force in Russia - mostly areas along the Ukraine border.

In preparation for the blackouts, Ukrenergo has appealed to Ukrainians to stock up with water and ensure they have "warm socks and blankets and hugs for family and friends".

Phones, power banks, torches and batteries need to be charged, it urged.

On Tuesday, President Volodymyr Zelensky said 30% of Ukrainian power stations had been destroyed by Russian air strikes.

Ukrenergo said there had been more attacks on power facilities in the past 10 days than in the whole preceding period since Russia's invasion on 24 February.

"Tomorrow [Thursday] we will apply controlled, calculated consumption restrictions, which we have to do, to ensure the system functions in a balanced way," its statement said on social media.

Ukrenergo said power cuts may occur "throughout Ukraine from 7am to 10pm" and advised citizens to check the regional network operators' websites to see where and when exactly.

Sporadic power cuts have already affected parts of the capital Kyiv and many of Ukraine's regions. Russian missiles have damaged infrastructure all across Ukraine, including cities like Lviv in the west - a long way from the fighting.

Authorities have urged Ukrainians to reduce their power use in the evenings.

"We do not rule out that with the onset of cold weather, we will ask for your help more often," Ukrenergo said.

Western leaders have condemned the infrastructure strikes.

"Russia's attacks against civilian infrastructure, especially electricity, are war crimes," tweeted EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

"Cutting off men, women, children of water, electricity and heating with winter coming - these are acts of pure terror."

BBC

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