The shelling of Ukraine's energy infrastructure by Russian occupiers is taking a heavy toll on the nation’s critical industries.

The Avis egg farm, a part of the Avangard Group, in Khmelnytsky region, being the largest facility of its kind in Ukraine that has not shut down amid Russia's large-scale aggression, has suffered a major blackout caused by the continued shelling of the region's energy infrastructure. The group’s farms in Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv regions are also facing frequent power outages disrupting operations.

Those power outages are causing egg grading and other critical equipment to fail. During power outages, production facilities are having to switch to backup power supply using diesel generators. This has allowed us to prevent a complete shutdown of production and avert the death of our laying flock, albeit at increased cost.

That said, backup power supply is only a temporary solution, it does not solve the challenge of surviving through long periods of power loss. The operation of Sloviany, our hatchery, which plays a critical role as the backbone of our incubation and hatching operations, has been severely compromised by a blackout . Due to the interruption of electricity supply, which has not yet been restored, future laying hens may die in their millions with some 2 million hatching eggs currently sitting in a hatchery cut off from power.

Egg farms are also suffering immensely from interruptions in the supply of feed while grain elevators and feed mills are experiencing disruptions amid power outages caused by the shelling of energy infrastructure.

Despite the damage already sustained and risk of future strikes, the staff of our egg farms, grain  elevators, feed mills and other critical infrastructure assets, promptly repair any equipment damaged  by power surges or sudden power outages, working 24/7 if necessary. Employees of the Ukrlandfarming Group are doing their best to protect Ukraine’s  food security. Together with the whole nation, we are doing out utmost to strengthen the rear as our soldiers repel the enemy's aggression and liberate temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.