Power restored in all regions of Ukraine after system-wide outage – Shmyhal

Energy workers have restored electricity in all regions of Ukraine following a system-wide outage on the morning of January 31.

First Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Energy Denys Shmyhal announced this on Facebook, according to Ukrinform.

"All regions are returning to planned schedules. High-voltage lines and substations are operating in normal mode. Energy workers acted as quickly as possible," Shmyhal wrote.

He said that the causes of the morning situation were analyzed at a meeting of the headquarters today.

In the morning, two failures occurred on high-voltage lines within minutes of each other. This led to cascading outages in seven regions of the country. Versions about a cyberattack or external interference have not been confirmed. According to preliminary assessments, this happened due to ice accumulation on lines and equipment, Shmyhal said.

"The situation today was difficult in the north, in the center of the country, and in the Odesa region," he added.

In Kyiv, 64 crews are working to restore electricity, and 220 crews are restoring heating.

"Work will continue even during the night to return heat and electricity as quickly as possible," Shmyhal said.

On January 31, a technical disruption occurred between the power systems of Romania, Moldova, and Ukraine, causing a simultaneous grid outage.