Ukraine battled on Sunday to restore power to tens of thousands of people left without heat in frigid temperatures after a week of heavy Russian aggression collapsed the country’s energy infrastructure.
In Kiev, heating was restored to about 85% of apartment buildings in a day after the entire city lost power, heat and water on Saturday. But the city’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, said more than 1,000 buildings remained without heat. Daytime temperatures can drop to -10°C (14F).
Ukraine’s Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko said Russia had been targeting energy infrastructure every day for the past week as temperatures plummeted.
“The enemy deliberately targeted heat-generating facilities with ballistic missiles. The situation was further complicated by difficult weather conditions and a significant drop in temperature,” she said in a statement.
“We understand that the lack of light and heat is a difficult challenge, especially in cold weather. Our key task is therefore to restore people’s basic living conditions as soon as possible.”
Mobile shelters have been set up in the capital region, providing space for local residents to warm up, charge their phones and other devices and drink hot tea, the state emergency service said.
Nevertheless, residents spoke of the great challenges of living without electricity in the middle of winter.
Halina Turchin managed to procure gas cans and was able to cook for the first time after the power went out. “Today I’m going to make something to eat, because I haven’t cooked anything for two days,” she told CNN from her kitchen in Kiev.
Galina Turchin, a 71-year-old retiree, was wearing multiple jumpers to protect her from the cold in her apartment, which was only covered with a plastic sheet after one of the windows was recently shattered by debris from a Russian drone.
“We hope they will provide us with heating. If not electricity, then at least heating,” she told Reuters, adding that she had not cooked food for two days and was only eating leftovers from the kitchen.
Russia has repeatedly targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure since launching a full-scale invasion in 2022, using waves of missiles and drones to shut down power generation in an effort to undermine morale and damage the economy.
Residents of Kyiv lost power for an average of 9.5 hours a day in December as the energy system struggled to cope with winter demands. Elevators in apartment complexes stopped working, elderly residents were trapped in their homes, and people became accustomed to the blaring noise of generators.
“This is one of the most large-scale attacks on the capital’s energy infrastructure, and it comes at a time when weather conditions are worsening,” Oleksiy Kuleba, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister for reconstruction, said on Sunday.
This week’s strikes come as the conflict enters its fourth winter, with cities facing prolonged power outages as temperatures dip below freezing and are expected to drop further.
Ukraine’s state-run power grid operator Ukrenergo on Saturday ordered an emergency power outage in Kiev and surrounding areas to repair the severely damaged system.
Russia’s overnight attacks from Saturday to Sunday knocked out electricity in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporozhye oblasts. By Sunday morning, more than 13,000 people in Zaporizhzhia were without food supplies, according to Ukraine’s Energy Ministry.
Power was lost to about 700,000 customers over the past seven days and was eventually restored, Sviridenko said. She warned that electricity supply had been restored in Kiev in “record time” but the situation would remain unstable for some time.
Even in homes where power has been restored, rolling blackouts continue, with Kyiv currently experiencing a power outage for about eight hours.
Klitschko warned that the energy supply system in the Ukrainian capital remained “very difficult” despite restoration work.
Some villages on the outskirts of the capital have been without power for four days, with people taking to the streets to block roads in protest.
“Before the strike, it was just normal warmth,” Serhiy Przystovsky told CNN. “I have to sleep with my clothes on until the heating comes back on.”
