Ukraine Prime Minister Orders Emergency Diesel Delivery to Konotop

Serhii Koretskyi, the Prime Minister of Ukraine, has directed the Ministry of Energy and Ukrenergo to restore electricity to Konotop. The city in Sumy Oblast has endured five consecutive days without power following Russian attacks on local energy infrastructure.

Koretskyi stated that the outage began after strikes targeted a specific energy facility. He confirmed that critical infrastructure currently runs on backup systems. The government has also established invincibility centres for residents. These heated locations provide food and power banks to help citizens manage the lack of electricity.

The prime minister instructed energy officials to investigate the damage and restore the supply as quickly as possible. He announced that the government would deliver a stock of diesel fuel to Konotop on October 28. This fuel is required to operate boiler houses and water utilities while the main grid remains offline.

Artem Semenikhin, the mayor of Konotop, described the damage as extensive. He reported that Russian forces struck several energy facilities, which complicated repair efforts and limited backup options for consumers. Repair work on the infrastructure is ongoing.

The blackout started during overnight Russian strikes on October 23 and 24. Reports on October 27 indicated that the city had been without electricity for four days, with no initial timeline for restoration.