Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on January 16, 2026
2 min readLast updated: January 19, 2026
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Kyiv faces an electricity shortage due to Russian attacks, leaving it with only half the needed power. International aid is helping to restore services.
KYIV, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Ukraine's capital Kyiv has only about half the electricity that it needs as it faces its most severe wartime energy crisis following waves of Russian attacks on its infrastructure, mayor Vitali Klitschko told Reuters on Friday.
Kyiv, one of Eastern Europe's largest cities, requires 1,700 megawatts of electricity a day to power the services for its 3.6 million people, Klitschko said.
Klitschko said the current energy crisis was the most difficult challenge facing the capital in the nearly four years since Russia's invasion in February 2022.
"It's the first time in the history of our city that, in such severe frosts, most of the city was left without heating and with a huge shortage of electricity," Klitschko, a former world heavyweight boxing champion, said in an interview in his office at the heart of Kyiv.
Klitschko said Ukraine's international partners had rushed in additional generators and repair teams had worked round the clock to restore heating following a Russian strike last week knocked out supplies to 6,000 apartment buildings. About 100 buildings still have no heating, he said.
Ukraine has declared an energy emergency this week as its grid crumbles under Russian bombardments, bitter cold temperatures and accumulated wartime damage.
(Reporting by Olena Harmash; editing by Daniel Flynn)
Electricity shortage refers to a situation where the demand for electricity exceeds the supply available, leading to outages or reduced availability of power.
An energy crisis occurs when the supply of energy resources is insufficient to meet the demand, often leading to increased prices and shortages.
Generators are devices that convert mechanical energy into electrical energy, often used as backup power sources during outages.
Heating infrastructure includes the systems and facilities used to provide heating to buildings and homes, essential for comfort and safety during cold weather.
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