Scenes worthy of the Siege of Leningrad during the Second World War can be observed in today’s Kyiv.

Following another series of massive Russian strikes on critical infrastructure in Ukraine’s capital, hundreds of thousands of Kyiv residents were left without electricity, heating, and in some areas water, amid severe winter frost.

Early Saturday morning, Kyiv’s energy system came under heavy missile and drone attacks, leading to emergency shutdowns of electricity and heating networks across the city. City authorities reported temporary power outages that directly affected centralized heating and water supply systems.

Air temperatures in the capital dropped below –10°C (14°F), worsening the situation. Thousands of apartment buildings were left without heating, forcing residents to look for alternative ways to stay warm.

Consequences of the strikes

Heating and electricity: About half of the city’s residential buildings remain without centralized heating, putting especially vulnerable groups — the elderly, families with children, and people with chronic illnesses — at serious risk.

Water supply: Although water supply has been restored in most districts, disruptions continued in some parts of the city due to damage to infrastructure.

Calls to leave the city: Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko urged residents who have the opportunity to temporarily leave the capital and relocate to regions with more stable energy supplies to endure the peak of the cold weather.

Life in freezing conditions

Residents staying in unheated apartments describe extremely harsh conditions. Many are using portable heaters, gas burners, and improvised window insulation to retain warmth. According to utility services, repair crews are working around the clock, but ongoing attacks and severe frost significantly complicate restoration efforts.

Ukraine’s prime minister stated that heat and electricity supplies are expected to be fully restored in the coming days, though the energy system remains vulnerable due to repeated damage sustained during the war.

Context of the attacks

Strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure are part of a campaign that has continued since 2022, aimed at undermining the resilience of critical networks during the winter season. Russia has repeatedly targeted power plants, substations, and boiler facilities, regularly causing large-scale outages and severe disruptions to civilian life.

Unfortunately, the tragedy of nearly a million people in one of Europe’s capitals is not making the front pages of leading Western publications because of events in Iran and the U.S. preparations for an attack on Greenland. Photo by Mvs.gov.ua, Wikimedia commons.l