ISTANBUL

Ukraine’s national power grid operator Ukrenergo said on Saturday that a massive Russian missile and drone strike targeted energy infrastructure in eight regions, forcing all nuclear power plants (NPPs) in Kyiv-controlled territory to significantly reduce their output.

"As a result of missile strikes on key high-voltage substations that ensured the output of nuclear power units, all NPPs in the controlled territory were forced to be unloaded," Ukrenergo said in a statement.

The damage, it added, led to a substantial power deficit in the national grid, resulting in the implementation of emergency blackouts and an increase in the duration of scheduled hourly outages.

Repair work has commenced in areas where the security situation allows, with priority given to restoring electricity to critical infrastructure.

Ukrenergo urged citizens to limit the use of energy-intensive appliances once power returns to avoid overloading the fragile system.

Earlier, Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal said power substations and 750 kV and 330 kV overhead lines, which he described as the basis of the country’s power grid, were under attack.

He said the strikes also hit the Burshtyn and Dobrotvir thermal power plants in western Ukraine, and that staff at power plant units unloaded the capacity.

He added that Ukrenergo also requested emergency assistance from neighboring Poland.

Private energy provider DTEK also reported strikes on its thermal power stations in various regions, resulting in “significant” damage.

Russian authorities have yet to comment on the attack.