As a result of the Russian attack on the energy sector in the morning of March 22 and the subsequent blackout in a number of regions of Ukraine, more than 1,000 miners were stuck in the Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions, the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine reported.
"A number of mines in Donetsk region and Dnipropetrovsk region are without electricity," the department said, adding that there is no threat to the miners' lives.
In particular, in the Dnipropetrovsk region, energy facilities were damaged in the Dnipro, Kryvorizky, Pavlograd and Kamian districts.
As specified by DTEK, electricity generation, transmission and distribution facilities were damaged in the region, which leads to emergency shutdowns by order of NEC Ukrenergo.
The system of emergency shutdowns has also been introduced in the Donetsk region.
DTEK reported that they had already activated backup power sources and started evacuating miners from de-energized mines to the surface. We are talking about 1060 people.
"All miners undergo a medical examination after evacuation. There are no casualties. "After the mines are restored and the necessary preparatory work is carried out, coal mining will be resumed," the company said.
The Ministry of Energy added that due to the emergency shutdown of several TPP and HPP units, there is a certain decrease in the volume of electricity production. Emergency power supply from neighboring countries - Romania, Slovakia and Poland - was used to cover the needs of consumers. Commercial import of electricity is also planned.
