The shutdown, caused by cascading power line failures, affected several major cities and part of Moldova

Several Ukrainian cities, as well as part of Moldova, have been hit by a large-scale blackout, local officials report, saying the shutdown was caused by a cascading failure on key power lines.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmigal said the incident began at around 11 AM Saturday when a "technological failure" led to the simultaneous shutdown of a 400-kilovolt power line linking the energy systems of Romania and Moldova and a 750-kilovolt line connecting western and central Ukraine.

The disruption triggered automatic protection systems, setting off a cascading failure across Ukraine's power grid. Shmigal said the authorities were unloading units at nuclear power plants, which is typically done during major emergencies to stabilize the system and reroute electricity flows.

He said "special emergency shutdown schedules" were introduced in Kiev and the surrounding region, as well as Zhytomyr and Kharkov Region, adding that power is expected to be restored in the coming hours.

Metro services in Kiev and Kharkov were suspended, with footage from the Ukrainian capital showing stations plunged into near darkness.

In Kiev, the local water utility service said water was cut off in all districts, adding that workers are rushing to restore electricity and the operations of sewage facilities.

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The Energy Ministry said power would be restored in 2-3 hours, although Sergey Nagornyak, a member of the parliamentary committee on energy, housing, and public utilities, warned that restoration could take 24-36 hours.

Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky said he was briefed on the situation, adding that the key task is "to stabilize the situation as soon as possible."

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Power outages were also reported in neighboring Moldova, where the authorities said the disruption in Ukraine's energy system caused a sharp drop in voltage on cross-border transmission lines. Parts of the Moldovan capital, Chisinau, were left without electricity, along with several other regions of the country, Moldovan officials and local media report.

A video from Chisinau shows a long line of trolley buses, apparently immobilized by the shutdown.

Ukraine's power grid has been in a severely degraded state following repeated Russian strikes on energy infrastructure. The impact has been compounded by harsh winter conditions, with temperatures in parts of the country dropping below -10 C.

Moscow has said the strikes on Ukrainian energy facilities are in response to Kiev's attacks deep inside Russian territory, including strikes targeting critical infrastructure and civilian areas.

(RT.com)