On the evening of 23 March, the cross-border transmission line Isaccea–Vulcănești, which connects the energy systems of Moldova and Romania, went offline during Russian attacks on Ukraine, NewsMaker reported.
According to Moldelectrica data, the disconnection occurred after approximately 19:00.
Moldova: "situation remains unstable"
Later that night, Moldova's National Centre for Emergency Situation Management warned that "as a result of shelling of critical infrastructure in Ukraine, there is a risk of damage to the Isaccea–Vulcănești line, which is an important element of the regional and national energy system." The centre added: "Authorities are monitoring the situation in real time. The Ministry of Energy of Moldova will return with updates and additional information."
Moldovan President Maia Sandu confirmed on X that Russian strikes on Ukraine had directly affected her country. "Overnight, strikes severed Moldova's key energy connection with Europe. Alternative routes have been established, but the situation remains unstable. Russia bears sole responsibility for this," she wrote.
Ukraine: massive overnight attack on energy infrastructure
In the early hours of 24 March, Russia launched what Ukraine's Ministry of Energy described as a large-scale combined attack on energy infrastructure across multiple oblasts. Consumers in Zaporizhzhia, Odesa, Poltava, Sumy, Kharkiv, and Kherson oblasts were left without power. Crews were deployed to restore supply.
Odesa was also hit by Russian drones overnight, causing outages in parts of the city.
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The ministry announced that hourly scheduled outages for residential consumers would be in effect from 16:00 to 22:00 across most regions, with industrial power caps in place through the end of the day. Grid operators called on consumers to reduce electricity use during morning and evening peak hours to ease the load on the system.
Background: not the first time
This is not the first time the Isaccea–Vulcănești line has been at the centre of a regional energy crisis. In early February, Moldova experienced a partial blackout after a fault in Ukraine's power network. A voltage drop on the 400 kV Isaccea–Vulcănești–MGRES line triggered an emergency failure in Moldova's national grid.
According to Ukrainian Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal, the incident on 31 January — at 10:42 — involved the simultaneous disconnection of the 400 kV line between Romania and Moldova and the 750 kV line linking western and central Ukraine.
