Nearly 1 million people in Ukraine have no electricity, says state energy firm

More than 228,000 consumers have reportedly been left without gas

Nearly one million people in Ukraine have been left without electricity due to the Russian invasion.

Around 954,000 Ukrainians had no electricity as of Thursday, state-owned nuclear energy provider Energoatom said.

"Nearly 228,000 consumers have been left without gas," it added in the statement on Friday.

It comes after the country’s energy ministry on Monday said 646,000 people across Ukraine had no electricity and 130,000 were without gas.

A shelter covers an exploded reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear plant in Ukraine as power cuts to the plant’s cooling systems rose fears that the nuclear fuel would overheat (Efrem Lukatsky/AP)

Energy ministers from EU nations agreed on Monday to link European power systems to Ukraine’s electricity grid in order to bolster the country’s independence from Russia amidst its invasion.

The switch would mean that Russia would no longer have as much control over Ukraine’s grid frequency and energy supplies.

This map shows the extent of Russia’s war in Ukraine (Press Association Images)

Russia is Europe’s top supplier of gas and their continuous attacks on Ukraine prompted concerns about maintaining energy supplies and increased scrutiny on the reliance on imported fossil fuels by European nations.

As of Friday, Russian forces moving closer to Kyiv are regrouping in the northwest of the Ukrainian capital and the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said Moscow could plan an attack on the city within coming days.

On Thursday, a maternity hospital in Mariupol, Ukraine was also targeted by Russian shelling, killing at least three people (AP)

Ukraine has also accused Russia of “a brutal attack on civilians” after a psychiatric hospital near the eastern town of Izyum was attacked. No casualties were reported as patients were already through to be sheltering in the hospital basement.

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