Mass blackouts hit Kyiv, leaving 800,000 consumers without electricity

Around 800,000 consumers in Kyiv were left without electricity as of the evening of January 24 due to emergency power outages, Ukraine’s Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal said.

Shmyhal said Russian forces had carried out overnight strikes targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, as well as heat supply systems and other civilian facilities in the Kyiv, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, and several other regions, Caliber.Az reports via Ukrainian media.

“Constant enemy attacks are unfortunately preventing the situation from stabilising. The power system does not have time to recover. More than 800,000 consumers in the capital remain without electricity due to emergency outages, and the capacity deficit persists,” the minister said.

Shmyhal noted that more than 143 tons of humanitarian aid had been distributed in recent days from one of the Energy Ministry’s logistics hubs. The assistance included generators, transformers, cables, and pumps to support restoration efforts.

The supplies have been delivered to energy workers in Kyiv and the surrounding region, as well as to Sumy, Kharkiv, and other affected areas. The minister added that some generators provided by international partners will be transferred to heating centres operated by the State Emergency Service to ensure electricity supply during outages.

Additional equipment is expected to arrive from Slovakia, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Azerbaijan, Italy, Latvia, and Poland.

Shmyhal also emphasised that work to support vulnerable groups has been intensified amid the ongoing emergency in the energy sector.

By Khagan Isayev