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Lugansk power supply restored

Then the Lugansk State Security Ministry said that it did not rule out terrorist acts seeking to destabilise the current situation in Lugansk on the New Year eve

LUGANSK, January 1. /TASS/. Electric power supplies which were cut in embattled east Ukrainian city of Lugansk due to a Kiev act of sabotage was restored, chief of the restoration control centre in the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic Aleksander Drobot said.

“The electric power supply situation is under full control now. We have restored it at 2.49am local time on Thursday (11.49pm GMT on Wednesday),” the Lugansk Information Centre quoted him as saying.

On Wednesday, electricity has been cut massively in several Lugansk districts for several hours before the coming of the New Year. Then the Lugansk State Security Ministry said that it did not rule out terrorist acts seeking to destabilise the current situation in Lugansk on the New Year eve.

Meanwhile, Lugansk leader Igor Plotnitsky said that “this incident is an act of sabotage the Ukrainian side staged and did not rule out that this was done with some support of local armed formations.”

Plotnitsky gave instructions to chief law enforcers to investigate thoroughly massive power cuts in Lugansk and ensure security of vital energy facilities in the self-proclaimed republic.

“Lugansk republican leader Igor Plotnitsky has already made a statement about an act of sabotage Ukraine staged. What else can be added? As a result around 85% of boiler houses went out of order in the city. Heating supply was halted for one thousand residential houses. On the New Year night air temperatures plummeted lower than minus 20 degrees Celsius. The city has set up an emergency headquarters in this extraordinary situation. I headed it. The minister in charge of housing and utilities and the prime minister came very quickly,” Lugansk Mayor Manolis Pilavov told the Lugansk Information Centre on Thursday.

According to reports of operating groups of the emergency headquarters, the electric power line was found broken on a section between the towns of Krasnodon and Antratsit.

Immediately after the incident the emergency headquarters has provided reserve electric power supply to most important social facilities.

A total 60 residential houses were left without electricity at 1pm local time on Thursday (10am GMT) in the city, the Lugansk mayor said. Meanwhile, around 120 residential houses had heating problems due to frozen heating supply systems.

“Emergency works continue,” Pilavov said.