MOSCOW, January 31. /TASS/. Technological disruptions that affected the operation of two high-voltage lines triggered rolling blackouts of Ukraine’s power grid, Ukrainian First Deputy Prime Minister, Energy Minister Denis Shmygal said.

"Today at 10:42 a.m., a technological disruption disconnected the 400kV line between the power grids of Romania and Moldova and the 750kV line between the western and central parts of Ukraine. This caused a rolling blackout in Ukraine’s power grid and the activation of the automatic protection system at substations," he explained.

As the energy minister said, "power units at nuclear power plants were unloaded." "Now emergency power outage schedules have been introduced in Kiev, the Kiev, Zhitomir and Kharkov Regions. Electricity will be restored in the coming hours," he said.

Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky said on his Telegram channel that he had received reports from Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko and First Deputy Prime Minister, Energy Minister Shmygal on the emergency in the electric power grid "due to technological reasons on the lines between our state and Moldova." He added that recovery work was underway.

According to the data of the Ukrainian energy companies Ukrenergo and DTEK, power outages have affected nearly all the regions of Ukraine in one way or another.