Ukraine’s Emergency Crews Race to Restore Power Amid Record Cold and Russian Attacks

Emergency repair workers in Ukraine’s Kyiv region are working around the clock to restore electricity as relentless Russian attacks on energy infrastructure leave civilians struggling through one of the coldest winters in years. With temperatures plunging to -15°C (5°F), repair crews are battling extreme conditions to rebuild damaged electrical systems.

In Boryspil, a town of 60,000 near Kyiv, workers have managed to restore power for just four hours daily. Yurii Bryzh, who leads the local department of private electricity provider DTEK, explained the challenge they face: “When power comes back on, people turn on all available electrical equipment to wash, cook, or recharge phones,” causing the newly repaired systems to collapse again under the sudden demand.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko described the current blackouts as the most extensive since Russia’s full-scale invasion nearly four years ago. Some homes have been without electricity for days, leaving residents in freezing apartments with no heat or light.

The bitter cold has transformed the capital into a winter hardship zone. Snow blankets the city, piled along sidewalks and covering rooftops. After dark, streets remain unlit, and apartment buildings stand as dark silhouettes against the night sky, their windows showing no signs of light or life.

Residents have developed survival strategies amid the harsh conditions. One married couple, scientists Mykhailo, 39, and Hanna, 43, described how temperatures in their 5-year-old daughter Maria’s bedroom have fallen to -15°C. The family now relies on a gas stove for cooking and huddles together in one bed under multiple blankets for warmth.

“We have to use all the blankets we have in the house,” Hanna said. The couple now takes their daughter to work with them during the day because their workplace has a generator, while Maria’s kindergarten lacks heating.

Zinaida Hlyha, 76, heats water on her gas stove and places hot bottles in her bed for warmth. Despite the hardship, she maintains perspective: “Of course it’s hard, but if you imagine what our guys in the trenches are going through now, you have to endure. What can you do? This is war.”

For Tetiana Tatarenko, whose two sons are fighting on the front lines, fear intensified after a Russian Shahed drone struck a neighboring apartment building. The cold and darkness have created an eerie stillness in her home. “It’s as if life in the house has stopped, that’s the feeling,” she said.

Her neighbor, 89-year-old physicist Raisa Derhachova, lives alone and occasionally plays piano despite what she calls “this terrifying cold.” Having survived World War II, she now faces another grave conflict: “Of course, it’s hard to survive this. We survived World War II, and now this terrible war is upon us.”

The Russian strategy of targeting power infrastructure presents long-term challenges. According to Dennis Sakva, an energy sector analyst at Dragon Capital, a Ukrainian investment company, Russia is specifically attacking power plants and large substations. Procuring replacement equipment, particularly transformers, can take months.

“There are two types of heroes in Ukraine,” Sakva noted. “They are the military and energy workers.”

As repair crews continue their urgent work, Ukrainians face difficult weeks ahead with the harsh winter showing no signs of relenting and Russian attacks on critical infrastructure continuing. The resilience of both utility workers and civilians remains critical to surviving this challenging period in the nearly four-year conflict.