Power blackout in Ukrainian city of Odesa following Russian strikes

The southern Ukrainian city of Odesa has been without electricity for two days, following Russian attacks which damaged critical energy infrastructure.

Emergency power outages have been introduced across the region, and some facilities have been switched to generators.

“We hope the electricity will come back. There was no water all day, in the morning and until 6-7 pm, and there is no electricity,” says Natalia, a resident of Odesa.

‘Invincibility’ points have been set up across the city, where residents can access heat, water and electricity.

“As soon as they are needed, it they [the generators] take five minutes to work. Yesterday morning the need arose. People started coming to us. The State Emergency Service of Ukraine has 45 invincibility points in Odesa and the surrounding region, which are located at fire stations,” explains Maryna Averina, spokesperson for the State Emergency Service in the Odesa region.

Some people are being forced to work and eat in local cafés, but employees say the influx of people does not cover the cost of fuel for the generators.

“On the first day, one location had water while the other did not, but we were stocked with water supplies. We were prepared for this and we knew that such situations could arise”, says Anastasiia Popovych an employee at a café providing electricity to residents.

Two people were killed in Sunday’s strike in the Odesa region, which damaged energy infrastructure and disrupted power and water supplies.

Both victims were employees of Ukraine’s state-owned power grid operator, Ukrenergo, the company said.

This was followed by a barrage of Russian missiles in the same region on Monday, in which ten people were killed and 47 wounded, according to Ukraine’s Interior Ministry.

Four children aged were also hospitalised and remain in moderate condition, while an apartment building, a university, and an administrative building were damaged.

The attacks come as fears are mount over Moscow’s intentions to devastate Ukraine’s power generation capacity ahead of the winter.