On the Brink of Utility Disaster

The winter of 2025-2026 has already become the most challenging for the Ukrainian energy system. In recent months, there have been only a few days when the enemy has not struck civilian energy infrastructure—from combined attacks on large facilities such as thermal power plants and hydroelectric power stations, to almost daily drone attacks on frontline and border energy facilities.

January was the first month in the capital when thousands of residents were left without electricity and heat. While apartments are ready to receive power at any time, the lack of heat during record-breaking frosts creates the threat of a true utility disaster.

The problem is that if the heating is out for 15-20 hours or more, the building must drain the heating system pipes to prevent them from freezing. In some cases, returning the water to the system and, consequently, restoring heating in apartments is only possible when the air temperature remains stable above 0 degrees Celsius. This creates the risk that homes will be without heat until early spring.

At the same time, if the water isn’t drained, the pipes can freeze. A basic understanding of physics shows that water, when frozen in pipes, expands, leading to rupture or damage to the pipes and the heating system as a whole. Unfortunately, such cases have already been recorded in the capital in January 2026.

As of January 23, according to official information, nearly two thousand apartment buildings in Kyiv remain without heat. Some apartments have had no heat since January 9, and temperatures in living spaces have dropped to 0 degrees Celsius.

Attempts to restore heat sometimes lead to even more serious consequences. In one of the apartment buildings in the Pechersky district of the capital, after two days without heating, utility services decided to restore the heat. However, instead of the expected improvement, this led to a burst pipe on the top floor, which subsequently flooded the entire building with hot water.

“In the evening, I heard a sound like water running through the pipes. I was happy because by then the apartment was already very cold. I went to bed, hoping for the heat to return. But I woke up in the middle of the night to a roar — someone was pounding on the door. The building was already in chaos: neighbors were running around, trying to save things by simply throwing them onto the stairs. I didn’t even immediately understand what was happening. There was no power, there was steam everywhere, people were running and screaming,” says Elena, one of the residents of an apartment that was also flooded.

The flow of water from the top to the first floor continued for several hours. During this time, residents tried to figure out who exactly to turn to for help. Several agencies simultaneously claimed they had nothing to do with these problems. The flooding was subsequently stopped, but the apartments remained without heat, electricity, or water. Several families continue to live in these conditions, trying to save their homes and deal with the aftermath of the accident.

“I know Russia is to blame. It is the root cause of what happened. Who carried out the work and how it was done are just the consequences. The causes are the shelling, power outages, and so on. If not for the shelling, there would be no need for urgent and emergency work,” Elena explains.

Residents of the building are now awaiting an official assessment to determine the extent of the damage and the potential compensation for victims.

This is just one illustrative case, but far from the only one. On the left bank of the capital, in the Rusanovka neighborhood, dozens of houses have remained without heat and with almost no electricity since January 9. The State Emergency Service has deployed mobile heating stations where people can warm up and charge their phones. Powerful generators are also being used in certain areas of Kyiv, temporarily restoring power to a few nearby homes on a limited basis.

Russian propaganda has repeatedly justified strikes on energy infrastructure by claiming that the electricity is being used for military purposes. It has nothing to do with international humanitarian law, which explicitly prohibits strikes on such facilities and does not link thermal power plants or electrical substations to military targets. In 2024, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for high-ranking Russian generals involved in strikes on the Ukrainian energy sector in 2022-2023. This practice was recognized as a war crime.

While Russian propaganda at least tries to find pseudo-explanations for its actions in the case of electric grid attacks, strikes on boiler objects, water utilities, and sewage treatment plants cannot have any justification, not even as propaganda.