On January 22, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal said that the country is facing an "extremely difficult" situation, as the energy system is continuously under great pressure from Russian attacks in the harsh winter.
Today is the most difficult day for Ukraine's power system since the power outage in November 2022. The situation is extremely difficult. Technical teams are forced to continuously apply emergency power cuts," Mr. Shmyhal shared.
According to Mr. Shmyhal, the most serious situation was recorded in Kiev and neighboring areas, as well as in Dnipro province in southeastern Ukraine.
A total of 165 emergency repair teams worked during the day in the capital. Mr. Shmyhal said Kiev had just experienced its 2,000th air strike alert since Russia launched a special military operation in February 2022.
The work of overcoming the incident faced even more obstacles due to the cold winter air, with nighttime temperatures dropping to minus 10 degrees Celsius.
On the same day, Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said that after the daily meeting on energy issues, the government is making efforts to provide Kiev residents with alternative energy sources, including generators.
Meanwhile, Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that two days after the latest attacks, there are still 2,600 apartment buildings that have not been re-heated, while 600 buildings have restored heating systems. Power cuts continue, but water supply has been completely restored.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last week declared a state of emergency in the energy sector and called on the government to develop a plan to respond to disruptions.
Russia has long targeted Ukraine's energy system in the nearly 4-year conflict, but attacks have increased in intensity in recent months, causing heavy damage to infrastructure and disrupting power supply and heating for a large part of the population.
The situation became even more serious when 2 night airstrikes by Russia targeting the capital Kiev in January 2026 caused thousands of apartment buildings to be cut off from power.
