Ex-Minister of Energy Plachkov: «The Russians are striving for a total blackout — we must prepare for a week-long blackout»

"Outages can last a week": ex-Minister of Energy Ivan Plachkov on the threat to Ukraine's energy system. Photo: press service of Ivan Plachkov

Former Minister of Energy Ivan Plachkov said that the latest Russian attacks on critical infrastructure of Ukraine significantly worsened the situation in the energy sector. Therefore, current power outages can last much longer, and Ukrainians should be prepared for long-term outages that can last not days, but weeks.

He stated this during a broadcast on the Espresso TV channel.

He noted that more than half of the country's energy infrastructure was damaged, including power plants, substations and facilities that allowed electricity to be imported from Europe.

«We know that we are without the Zaporizhzhia and Kakhovka nuclear plants, and the energy industry has received more than 200 massive rocket and drone strikes. They damaged more than half of the country's energy infrastructure. These are both nuclear and coal stations, substations. Unfortunately, until recently, the energy industry was balanced on the edge due to the import of electricity from Europe. And today, the energy sector is not balanced, and energy companies are forced to make long-term outages. This applies to many regions — from Kyiv to the southern and western regions,» the expert explained.

He noted that the enemy seeks to cause a complete blackout for a week or more in order to destabilize the situation in the country and create panic among the population.

«The energy system is not broken, what the Russians are trying to do is to create a total blackout for a week or two, when all consumers are turned off and power plants are turned off. This is a social issue, this is also the economy, this is also the psychological mood of people,» noted Ivan Plachkov.

Ivan Plachkov called on the authorities to strengthen the protection of energy facilities with the help of anti-aircraft defense, as well as to set up «Points of Invincibility» where people could get heat, water, food and medicine.

«We must be prepared for the fact that outages may last even a week. For this, it is necessary to create points of invincibility, equipped with diesel generators, heating, food and medicine,» said the energy expert.

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He also advised residents of large cities to make arrangements in advance with relatives or acquaintances in villages or small towns for a possible temporary relocation in case of long-term power outages.

Back in July 2024, ex-Minister of Energy Plachkov gave advice on how to survive a difficult winter without light and heat. He emphasized that on the eve of winter, Ukraine is facing unprecedented challenges in the energy sector. In the conditions of war, when Russian strikes cause significant damage to the energy infrastructure, preparing for the heating season becomes a critically important task.

We will remind that on November 29, Mykolaiv and 70% of the region remained without electricity for more than 30 hours due to the consequences of massive rocket fire that occurred on the night of November 28.

The lights in the city went out around 5:40 a.m. on November 28. Despite an attempt to restore the supply, electricity appeared only briefly in the evening, after which it disappeared again.

After 37 hours of power outages around 18:00 on November 29, power supply was gradually restored in Mykolaiv.

On Saturday, November 30, the head of the regional military administration, Vitalii Kim, announced that the Mykolaiv region plans to implement more convenient power outage schedules.