Kramatorsk, nearby cities in eastern Ukraine left without electricity

Kyiv, May 29 (EFE).- The city of Kramatorsk in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine was left without electricity on Sunday as a result of clashes with Russian forces, local authorities reported.

“As a result of the clashes, a high-voltage power line was disrupted. Kramatorsk and all nearby cities had no electricity,” Kramatorsk’s city mayor, Alexander Goncharenko, said.

Goncharenko added that repair teams were trying to reach the site but that it was dangerous due to ongoing fighting.

Kramatorsk houses the administrative institutions of Donetsk Oblast after the official capital of the region was seized by pro-Russian separatists.

The Sloviansk thermal power plant, near Kramatorsk, announced on Saturday that it was ceasing operations to allow the evacuation of employees and their families as Russian forces advanced towards the city.

For weeks, the Russian offensive in Ukraine has focused on the eastern Donbas region, which was already partly controlled by pro-Russian separatist forces before the invasion over three months ago.

int-cph/mp