A serious accident in Odessa deals a new blow to the Ukrainian electricity grid

A serious accident at a high-voltage substation caused widespread power outages in the southern port city of Odessa. Ukraineand its surroundings, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Saturday.

“The situation is difficult, the magnitude of the accident is significant, it is impossible to quickly restore power supply, in particular to critical infrastructure,” Shmyhal wrote in Telegram.

He said the substation in the Odessa region had previously been damaged multiple times by attacks by russian missiles and the energy minister was on his way to the regional capital to oversee the repairs along with the CEO of the national grid operator.

Shmyhal said authorities were working to restore power to critical infrastructure and to apartment blocks that need electricity to heat their homes.

The temperature in Odessa, the main port city in southern Ukraine on the Black Sea with a pre-war population of one million, was 2 degrees Celsius on Saturday and is forecast to drop below freezing point. Freeze for much of the next week.

Shmyhal said he has ordered the Ministry of Energy to gather all available high-power generators in its national inventory and send them to Odessa within one day.

He also urged the Foreign Ministry to ask Turkey to send warships, which carry power plants, to help the city.