Ukraine is enduring the most severe strain on its energy system since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, with freezing temperatures, sustained missile and drone strikes, and the loss of local generation in Kyiv creating what one energy analyst described as a uniquely dangerous phase for the country’s power and heating networks.
A cascading electrical disruption over the weekend – which energy officials said was triggered by load imbalances and weakened transmission links – forced emergency power cuts across parts of the capital, even as Moscow publicly floated what it called an “energy ceasefire.”
Speaking at a Media Center Ukraine briefing on Wednesday, Jan. 28, Oleksandr Kharchenko, director of the Energy Research Center, said the capital is now being supplied almost entirely from outside the city – a task he called “a complex technical challenge even in peacetime,” made far more difficult by ongoing damage to transmission networks.
“This is the hardest stretch of the war for Kyiv’s energy system,” Kharchenko said, warning that the next several weeks of winter cold would be critical.
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