Kiev forces continue to carry out heavy shelling of cities and towns of the Donetsk People’s Republic, causing severe damage to its energy infrastructure. According to the operational duty officer of the DPR Coal and Energy Ministry, seven localities in the Republic’s south were cut off power supply due to shelling on the night of March 15.
At 11:50 p.m., the 35kV Sakhanka substation, feeding four 6kV cable-overhead lines and 17 transforming substations, was de-energized. Residents of the villages of Sergeyevka, Sakhanka, Kominternovo, Zaichenko, Leninskoye, Dzerzhinskoye and Novaya Tavria, one boiler house, a school, a kindergarten and 934 households were cut off power supply.
Due to the fact that damage inspection and repair works will have to be carried out in close proximity to the contact line, power engineers are currently waiting for the works to be approved by the Joint Center for Control and Coordination of the ceasefire and for security guarantees to be provided by the Ukrainian party.
It is worth noting that on the night of March 15 by the AFU fire there were also de-energized three transforming substations supplying the village of Zhabichevo (a Donetsk suburb). 310 households were cut off power supply. A few hours later, as soon as security conditions allowed, repair teams of the Regional Energy Supply Company, jointly with JCCC representatives, responded to the scene, surveyed the damage, and proceeded to repair works. Despite periodically resuming shelling by the Ukrainian forces, major works had been completed by nightfall.