Partisans report widespread water, fuel and power shortages in Russian-occupied Ukrainian cities

https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/4148212-partisans-report-widespread-water-fuel-and-power-shortages-in-russianoccupied-ukrainian-cities.html

The ATESH partisan movement has gathered information on widespread problems with electricity, water and fuel supplies, as well as logistics, in Ukrainian cities temporarily occupied by Russian forces.

According to Ukrinform, ATESH shared the information on Telegram.

The partisans report that the Russian-occupied cities of Berdiansk and Melitopol in the Zaporizhzhia region are experiencing power outages lasting from four to six consecutive days. When electricity is restored, voltage fluctuates between 123 and 195 volts, causing household appliances to fail and triggering further disruptions to the power grid.

The shutdown of pumping stations has left Melitopol without running water. In the Yurivka and Pishchane districts, residents have gone more than eight days without water.

In Berdiansk, the lack of electricity at water treatment facilities has led to a shortage of drinking water. Rust-colored technical water is reportedly flowing from household taps. Fuel shortages have also driven the price of A-95 gasoline in the city to as much as 220 rubles per liter.

In the temporarily occupied city of Donetsk, electrical substations are experiencing regular failures. In the Kirovskyi district, 65 transformers reportedly went out of service simultaneously, leaving around 600 customers without electricity.

Water is being supplied in Donetsk on a scheduled basis. The same situation exists in the Russian-occupied city of Mariupol in the Donetsk region, where residents are stockpiling water amid fears that the system could stop functioning altogether.

In temporarily occupied Crimea, the authorities have declared a man-made state of emergency due to ongoing electricity supply problems. Residents of Alushta, Yalta and Saky have reportedly gone without electricity for between two and four days. In Sevastopol, rolling blackouts are in effect, while voltage fluctuations periodically disrupt electric public transport.

Fuel purchases at ATAN and TES filling stations in Crimea have been limited to 20 liters per vehicle. Vehicles are being refueled only with vouchers or QR codes, and fuel sales in portable containers have been prohibited.

Traffic congestion has also been reported at the Chonhar checkpoint and near the Crimean Bridge, where manual inspections have created queues of up to 600-700 vehicles.

As reported by Ukrinform, on July 23-24, Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces carried out Operation Crimean Switch Off, striking 19 electrical substations in temporarily occupied Crimea and Russian-held areas of the Donetsk region.

Temporary electricity restrictions have been introduced across Crimea as of July 31.

The Russian-installed authorities are warning residents of the risk of a large-scale power system failure, according to Krymenergo.

"On the instruction of the dispatcher of the Black Sea Regional Dispatch Office (a branch of the Unified Energy System Operator), a temporary electricity restriction regime has been introduced in Crimea," the statement said.

The Russian-installed authorities on the peninsula said the measure was unavoidable.

They also claimed it was the only way to prevent the electricity grid from becoming overloaded, saying Crimea is currently at risk of a power system-wide failure.

The authorities also acknowledged that the restrictions would involve unplanned power outages.

"As the decision to disconnect electricity consumers was made by the system operator, there are currently no precise hourly outage schedules for individual power grid districts. Outages will be implemented on a localized basis and as needed," the statement said.

Krymenergo also said it could not specify when the electricity restrictions would be lifted.

Power restrictions imposed across Crimea: Authorities warn of grid failure