Ukraine war live: Chernobyl blackout, massive power outages continue across Ukraine

Parts of Ukraine and Moldova, including the capitals of the two neighboring countries, were plunged into blackouts on Saturday due to faulty high-voltage power lines, officials said.

Although Ukraine’s power grid has been hit by the cumulative impact of Russian airstrikes that have severely limited power supplies in recent weeks, officials have not directly linked the incident to war damage.

Ukraine’s Digital Ministry also stated that a cyberattack was not to blame.

The system is under even more pressure as the cold snap returns this weekend.

At least five Ukrainian regions and parts of Moldova, as well as the capitals Kiev and Chisinau, were affected by the outage after the outage occurred at 10:42 a.m. Kiev time.

Kirill Dmitriev, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy, traveled to Miami to meet with members of the U.S. delegation at 8 a.m. local time, a source familiar with the visit told Reuters.

This weekend’s talks will be held between Kiev, Moscow and Washington, following similar discussions last weekend.

However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday’s talks could be postponed due to ongoing tensions between the United States and Iran.

The UK Ministry of Defense shared the latest defense intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine on Friday:

The Russian Defense Ministry said today that troops had occupied the villages of Petrivka and Toretsk.

Petrivka is located in the Zaporozhye region in southeastern Ukraine. Toletsk is located in the eastern region of Donetsk.

The claims could not immediately be verified.

Ukraine’s Chernobyl nuclear power plant briefly lost all off-site power, the United Nations’ atomic energy regulator reported on Saturday.

Ukraine was working to stabilize the power grid and restore output, they said, adding that no direct impact on nuclear security was expected.

Although no longer an operating power station, the plant still requires ongoing management.

Parts of Ukraine and Moldova, including the capitals of the two neighboring countries, were hit by power outages on Saturday due to faulty high-voltage power lines, officials said.

U.S. and European officials are concerned that millions of dollars in energy aid for Ukraine have yet to be released as Russia steps up attacks on energy infrastructure.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) had expected to release the funds before Donald Trump effectively shut down the agency last year, multiple sources, including a U.S. official and a Ukrainian official, told Reuters.

Some funds are stuck in what sources describe as bureaucratic boondoggles. It’s unclear how many are on hold. The previous Biden administration pledged significant funding for Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, including $824 million by mid-2024.

Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday rejected a Russian offer to travel to Moscow while saying he would be willing to meet Vladimir Putin in a more appropriate format.

“I can also invite him to Kiev and let him come. If he dares, I will invite him openly,” Zelensky told reporters.

He added: “We take seriously the need to end the war. Any genuine format of a leaders’ meeting is appropriate.”

The two leaders have not met since 2019, before all-out war broke out.

Technical interruptions in two transmission lines connecting Ukraine, Moldova and Romania on Saturday caused a blackout in Ukraine’s power grid, Ukraine’s energy minister said.

Denys Shmуhal added on the Telegram app that at least three regions and the capital of Kiev were experiencing emergency power outages.

He expected power supply to be restored in the next few hours.

Russia said on Friday that Putin had agreed to halt attacks on Kiev for a week until Sunday.