Ukraine gradually emerging from blackout - Zelensky

MOSCOW. Nov 25 (Interfax) - Ukraine is gradually emerging from the blackout, and power and water supply is being restored, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said.

"Restoration has been continuing all day today - we are gradually restoring electricity, heat and water supply and communication," Ukrainian media quoted Zelensky as saying in an overnight video address.

"As of this evening, there are still problems with water in 15 regions. The most difficult situation is in the Kiev, Kirovograd, Dnepropetrovsk, Lvov, Poltava, and Kharkov regions," the president said.

"The electricity supply situation remains difficult in almost all regions. But still, we are moving away from the blackout little by little. The most difficult situation is in the capital and 15 regions," he said.

Europe's Generators of Hope program will help take advantage of the opportunities of horizontal cooperation in the EU and will provide Ukraine with necessary power equipment, he said.

"A very important initiative was launched by our partners in the European Union. The European Parliament together with a network of European cities launched the Generators of Hope program. This will allow us to use the opportunities of horizontal cooperation in Europe - with cities and with businesses - and to provide Ukraine with the energy equipment it needs now," Zelensky said.

As reported, more than 200 European cities will send power generators to Ukraine as part of this initiative.

For his part, Sergei Kovalenko, head of the Yasno company, which supplies power to Kiev, said that the country's nuclear power plants are restarting electricity generation in a step-by-step manner, which makes it possible to gradually increase the energy system's capacity and to make 3-4 hour exchanges between different consumers, according to Ukrainian media.

Ukrenergo CEO Vladimir Kudritsky, in turn, said that the company is able to import 500 MW of electricity to Ukraine from Europe, but a special mechanism is needed for that.

"It is important to our security. The energy system of the European Union can help us at this difficult time, and it is doing so. As regards commercial import, it is technically possible. Ukrenergo is able to ensure such imports in the amount of 50 MW or even 600 MW. Special mechanisms are needed for this import, because electricity prices in Europe are higher than in Ukraine," Ukrainian media quoted Kudritsky as saying during the news telethon on Thursday evening.

There is hardly anyone in Ukraine who would agree to buy electricity from Europe on general commercial terms, he said.