Kiev, Many Regions Of Ukraine And Part Of Moldova Were Left Without Electricity
5- 31.01.2026, 14:46
- 5,900
What's going on?
Kiev and a significant part of Ukraine's regions suddenly found themselves without light on the morning of January 31. The blackout even affected part of Moldova.
RBC-Ukraine has collected everything that is known about the situation and where the light outages are now.
What happened
In the morning of Saturday, January 31, the light suddenly disappeared in Kiev, and because of the blackout, heating and water outages began. Immediately afterward, reports of emergency blackouts in other regions of Ukraine began to appear.
The Ministry of Energy explained the reasons: emergency power cuts were applied at the command of NEC Ukrenergo. Officially, the agency confirmed the restrictions in Kyiv, Zhytomyr and Kharkiv regions.
The energy sector reassures - the situation should stabilize quickly enough.
"According to experts' forecasts, power supply will return within the next 2-3 hours," - said the Ministry of Energy.
What is the cause of the power outage
The cause of the large-scale failure was a technological violation, which occurred today at 10:42. According to Prime Minister Denis Shmygal, two main lines were simultaneously disconnected:
the 400 kV line between the energy systems of Romania and Moldova;
the 750 kV line between the Western and Central parts of Ukraine.
This provoked a cascading disconnection in the network and the triggering of automatic protection systems at substations. Because of the accident, nuclear power plant units had to be unloaded.
"Ukrenergo power engineers are working to restore power supply. Within the next few hours, the light will be restored," Shmygal assured.
Transport collapse and no water in Kiev
Ukraine's capital has received hardly the biggest blow. The movement of subway trains has stopped in Kiev. The subway is being used as a shelter, entrance to the stations is free. It is also reported about the stoppage of ground electric transport.
City electric train (Kyiv City Express) temporarily suspended movement due to lack of voltage, but the situation was quickly stabilized.
Water has disappeared throughout the city. Pumping stations are de-energized. In addition, Kiev residents report heating disruptions.
The subway has also stopped in Kharkiv
The subway and electric transport have also been completely stopped in Kharkiv due to lack of voltage. Emergency power cuts have been introduced in the city and region to preserve the power system.
Water situation in the regions
The power outage has hit the water supply in many cities:
Vinnitsa: The entire city was left without water due to the complete power outage of the water supply company.
Zhytomyr: Pumping stations have stopped.
Communal workers are transferring them to backup power to restore water supply.
Chernihiv: Pumping stations that provide the city with water and heat are also switching to generators. Electric transportation has stopped in the city.
Poltava: Emergency shutdowns have been introduced. Vodokanal warns of possible lack of water or a significant decrease in pressure in some parts of the city.
Konotop (Sumy region): Water supply schedules are being introduced due to power shortages.
Whether Ukrzaliznytsia
Rail traffic has undergone minor disruptions due to the disconnection of external power to the contact network. Now in "Ukrzaliznytsya" reports that the situation is stabilized. Suburban electric trains have resumed traffic and follow with minimal delays.
Where else the light has disappeared
Emergency blackouts have also been introduced in Dnipropetrovsk, Odessa and Khmelnitsky regions. Power engineers are working to restore power and stabilize the system.
Blackout in Moldova
The large-scale outage also affected the neighboring country. Part of the settlements of Moldova remained without power supply. We are talking at least about Chisinau and its suburbs (Stavcheni, Durlesti, Vatra), as well as Taraclia, Cahul and Novi Aneni.
In Moldova, they officially say that the cause of de-energization is the situation in Ukraine.
"Due to serious problems in the Ukrainian power grid, the voltage on the 400 kV Isaccea-Vulcanesti-MGRES high-voltage line fell on the morning of January 31, which led to an emergency shutdown of the power system," Moldovan Energy Minister Dorin Jungietu said.
Now local operator Moldelectrica is working to eliminate the consequences of the accident and restore power.
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