Half of Kyiv left without power, heating after Russian strikes

A large Russian aerial strike on Ukraine left half of Kyiv’s residential buildings without power or heating as temperatures across the country hovered around -10°C.

The attack involved drones, ballistic and cruise missiles, which targeted several cities, including Kyiv, Dnipro, and Odesa. Air raid alerts lasted through much of the night in the capital, and sirens sounded again on Tuesday morning as missiles and drones approached.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said a “significant number” of targets had been intercepted. But he added that the cost of repelling the attack in air defence missile prices alone was about €80m (£69m).

Between Monday and Tuesday, at least four people died and 33 others were injured in strikes across Ukraine.

On Tuesday morning, more than 5,600 residential buildings in Kyiv, each containing multiple flats, woke up with no heating, and a large part of the city also had no water.

Mayor Vitalii Klitschko said almost 80% of those buildings had only just had their heating restored after a large-scale attack on 9 January. Technicians had reinstated electricity and gas for thousands, only for the work to be undone overnight.

“I have no electricity and no water,” Oleksandr Palii, a 29-year-old veteran, told the BBC. “I didn’t sleep until 3am because of the strikes either – there were explosions all night.”

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President Zelensky had been scheduled to travel to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday but decided to remain in Kyiv. He said he would travel only if security guarantees with the United States and a prosperity plan were ready to be signed.

Temperatures have remained well below freezing since the start of the year. Ukrainian media reported radiators bursting as water froze inside, causing flooding in some buildings. There were also reports of fires caused by indoor use of gas heaters.

Residents of Kyiv are finding ways to cope. Many use portable stoves to cook, and entire buildings pool resources to buy generators. But survival depends heavily on financial means.

“I think people who are less well-off are coping much worse,” Olha Zasiadvovk, who has a young child, said. She and other parents bought lamps and thermal containers for their children’s kindergarten “so that when the kitchen has no electricity they can cook all the meals at once and store them.”

She added that with sporadic electricity, “the food doesn’t keep very well. There were cases when food was cooked in the morning and by dinner the porridge had become completely solid.”

In recent days, videos have circulated showing Ukrainians barbecuing in snowy yards and dancing to keep warm. But many say this is the worst winter since the full-scale war began in 2022, with hostilities continuing.

“The resilience of the Ukrainian people cannot be an excuse for this war to continue. It must end as soon as possible,” said Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha on Tuesday.

The Kyiv city administration said more than 10,000 people, including nearly 800 children, spent Monday night in metro stations. Many high-rise buildings targeted by drones lack shelters, making the metro the primary safe space.

President Zelensky said Ukraine had received missiles that helped repel the overnight attack. But he emphasized that the country still needs more air defence systems.

“So far, this has not happened. That is why we need more missiles and more air defence systems,” he said, noting that Russia is using “far more” ballistic missiles and that Moscow’s capacity to produce them remains intact.

Diplomatic efforts in late 2025 had raised hopes for a peace deal with Russia, but Zelensky expressed concern on Tuesday about rising tensions between the US and Europe affecting Ukraine’s defence. Kyiv’s European partners are purchasing missiles from the US for Ukraine.

“When it comes to [protection from] ballistic missiles, for now the key is in the hands of the United States of America,” Zelensky said. “It is very important that deliveries are timely, that production works, and that partners help us purchase the necessary missiles. In other words, a great deal in the security of Ukrainians depends on the unity of Europe and America.”

(BBC News)