Ukrainian power grid's repairs progressing with great difficulty - Zelensky

MOSCOW. Dec 12 (Interfax) - The repairs of the damaged Ukrainian electric power system have been progressing with great difficulty, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said in a video address in the early hours of Sunday.

"Energy is the key today. The situation in the Odessa region has been extremely difficult. Odessa and other cities and villages in the region are in the dark. As of now, there is no power supply to over 1.5 million people in the Odessa region. Only critical infrastructure is connected as much as it is possible to supply electricity," Zelensky said.

"Emergency and stabilization blackouts are continuing in various regions. To put it mildly, the power grid is very far from being normal today, and there is a substantial deficit in the system. So, we have power outage schedules. Mostly, in the Lvov, Vinnitsa, Kiev, Ternopol, Sumy, Transcarpathian, Zhitomir and Khmelnitsky regions and Kiev," he said.

"The reconstructions are progressing with great difficulty," Zelensky said.