OREANDA-NEWS. Today around 1pm, Ukrtelecom engineers and Alchevsk city authorities have powered the provider's equipment through the external electricity networks to resume the long-distance and international call services in Lugansk Oblast, including Severodonetsk, Rubezhnoye, Novoaydar, Svatovo, Kremennaya, Troitskoye, Novopskov, Starobelsk, Markovka, Lisichansk, Stakhanov, Kirovsk, Slavyanoserbsk, Belokurakino, Belovodsk and Melovoye.

The current coverage of Donbass localities is available on Ukrtelecom's interactive map as of 5pm, 27 August.

The active hostilities in Donbass make it difficult to provide communication services to the residents of this region in full, as the provider's infrastructure is constantly suffering from external interference. Over the last two days, Alchevsk was facing power outages, which caused difficulties with long-distance call services in most parts of Lugansk Oblast. When the networks were extensively loaded, Ukrtelecom powered the equipment from its own portable generators, thus temporarily restoring the communication system. Unfortunately, it is technically impossible to ensure constant operations in this way.

Our engineers keep fixing the infrastructure in Donetsk and Lugansk oblasts, although it is very dangerous for them. The repair crews start working only after checking that it is safe for their lives. In the current situation, it is important for Ukrtelecom to ensure safety of the employees who restore the communication lines.