MOSCOW, March 22. /TASS/. Naftogaz facilities in Ukraine have been damaged and have no power after being bombed, company head Alexey Chernyshev reported.
"Gas pipelines have been damaged and facilities have lost power," he wrote on his Facebook (banned in Russia; owned by Meta Corporation, deemed extremist in Russia).
Earlier, an air alert was declared throughout Ukraine. Explosions occurred in Dnepr (formerly Dnepropetrovsk), Ivano-Frankovsk, Kiev, Krivoy Rog, Sumy, as well as in the Khmelnitsky Region and the Kiev-controlled city of Zaporozhye. At least 15 explosions occurred in Kharkov. According to local authorities, the city completely lost power.
Later, authorities in many regions reported damage to critical and energy infrastructure. The operation of Ukraine's largest hydroelectric power plant, the Dnieper Hydroelectric Station, was halted after the fire and damage. According to Energy Minister German Galushchenko, generation facilities, power transmission and distribution systems have been damaged across the country. Emergency blackouts will be introduced in a number of regions. Furthermore, large-scale Internet disruptions have been recorded across the country.