Fire engulfs Donetsk mine with 86 miners inside due to Russian shelling, ministry says.

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Russian shelling in Donetsk Oblast set fire to a mine with 86 miners inside, the Energy Ministry reported on July 27. As flames engulfed the pit, 84 workers were taken out while two remained inside to ensure the operation of the mine. The ministry did not report any casualties after the fire was extinguished.

Russian forces also targeted the electricity infrastructure in Chernihiv and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts over the past day. The strikes in Chernihiv Oblast left 2,946 households without power, while energy workers restored power to 8,359 households across Ukraine. As of the morning of July 27, 485 settlements were disconnected from the electricity grid.

Russia continues to bombard Ukraine's energy infrastructure, particularly in front-line and border regions. The Energy Ministry says that 9 gigawatts (GW) of energy capacity has been lost, which is half of the power used last winter. Ukraine has suffered scheduled blackouts since mid-May following several devastating attacks on energy facilities.

Under the worst-case scenario, Ukrainians could face 20-hour blackouts in the upcoming winter, according to the Executive Director of Ukraine's largest privately-owned energy company DTEK Dmytro Sakharuk Power outages have also impacted Ukraine's miners, who continue to work in front-line regions despite the harsh conditions. In March, DTEK said 1,060 miners were temporarily trapped in the company's mines in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast after a Russian attack caused power outages.

All miners managed to escape.

Ukraine's energy situation improving, state grid operator says

After a "very difficult couple of weeks" due to record-breaking heat and power plants being under repair, Ukraine's energy supply situation is improving, Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, the head of state grid operator Ukrenergo, said on July 26.