Vladimir Putin has reportedly ordered rolling energy blackouts across Moscow as temperatures reach – 22C.
The blackouts are said to cover the entire Moscow metropolitan area which has a total population of around 22 million.
The order issued states that electricity is “not to exceed 12 hours per day” with the blackouts in place from January 14 through March 31 2024, according to Ukraine commentator Igor Sushko.
Sushko posted on X: “The entire Moscow metropolitan area, population 22 million, will have rolling blackouts of electricity “not to exceed 12 hours per day” from January 14 through March 31, 2024. – announced by the fascist state.”
It comes after a heating main ruptured at the Klimovsk Specialised Ammunition Plant in Podolsk, about 30 miles south of central Moscow, on January 4.
As a result, tens of thousands of Russians are said to be without heat in their homes in the Moscow region due to subzero temperatures.
According to a map published by a Russian Telegram channel and circulated on various social media platforms, the affected areas include cities such as Khimki, Balashikha, Lobnya, Lyubertsy, Podolsk, Chekhov, Naro-Fominsk, and Podolsk.
Residents in Moscow, specifically Balashikha, Elektrostal, Solnechnogorsk, Dmitrov, Domodedovo, Troitsk, Taldom, Orekhovo-Zuyevo, Krasnogorsk, Pushkino, Ramenskoye, Voskresensk, Losino-Petrovsky, and Selyatino, are also experiencing power outages, according to other Russian media reports.
Power outages have been reported in St. Petersburg, Rostov, Volgograd, Voronezh, and Primorsky.
Meanwhile, a huge fire tore through a large warehouse used by Russia’s largest online retailer south of St Petersburg on Saturday morning.
The blaze covered an area of 70,000 square meters, with 50,000 square meters of the Wildberries warehouse collapsing, according to Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry. No casualties were reported.
Videos posted to social media appeared to show employees running down fire escapes and fleeing the scene. A video shot from a passenger jet flying nearby showed flames totally engulfing the warehouse, sending huge plumes of smoke into the sky.
