The capital Kiev of Ukraine currently only meets about half of the necessary electricity demand in the context of the energy crisis during the conflict, which is considered the most serious since the conflict began. Mr. Vitali Klitschko - Mayor of Kiev - said that the city needs about 1,700 megawatts of electricity to maintain services for 3.6 million people, but the current supply is not enough.
According to Mr. Vitali Klitschko, this is the biggest challenge that Kiev has faced in nearly 4 years since the conflict with Russia began. He emphasized that this is the first time in the city's history, amidst severe cold weather, most of Kiev has fallen into a state of no heating and serious power shortage.
Many people in Kiev are experiencing power outages from 6 to 8 pm every day. Ukraine has declared a state of emergency on energy as the power grid system weakens due to accumulated damage and new attacks targeting energy infrastructure. Cold weather conditions, ice and snow make the situation more tense, with nighttime temperatures in Kiev sometimes dropping to around minus 17 degrees Celsius.
Faced with this situation, Ukrainian international partners have urgently provided additional generators. Repair teams work continuously day and night to restore the heating system after an attack that caused 6,000 apartment buildings to lose heat. Currently, there are still about 100 buildings that have not been restored to heat.
The Kiev government has opened about 1,300 points with heating equipment installed for people to avoid the cold, and at the same time deployed the installation of mini-thermal power stations in some areas to disperse electricity and heat supply. The operation of generators requires about 300 tons of fuel per day, prioritizing power supply for water systems, hospitals, kindergartens and essential infrastructure.
Mr. Vitali Klitschko called on people to leave Kiev if possible, in order to reduce pressure on infrastructure. Schools extend winter holidays, many businesses move to work remotely. However, the city government affirmed its determination to completely restore the heating system and prepare contingency scenarios against the risk of new airstrikes.
