US EditionPower outages hit Ukraine and Moldova as Kyiv struggles against the winter cold
A technical fault on interconnection lines caused cascading failures, disrupting power, water, and heating amid severe cold with metro service halted for 800,000 daily passengers.
- On January 31, a voltage failure on the 400 kV Isaccea–Vulcanesti–MGRES high‑voltage line at 10.42am forced an emergency disconnection of Moldova's power system, causing outages in Kyiv and Chisinau.
- Grid operators traced the outage to two high‑voltage lines causing a cascading failure, with one linking Romania and Moldova and the other connecting western and central Ukraine, officials said.
- Across Ukraine, outages affected at least five regions, including Zhytomyr and Kharkiv, and the metro in Kyiv was suspended while water supplies were cut.
- Repair crews and grid operators partially restored power early Saturday afternoon, with supplies expected by evening, Oleksandr Kharchenko said, as emergency measures supported medical facilities in Moldova.
- Ukraine's war‑damaged grid and incoming cold snap complicate recovery as Russian airstrikes have weakened supplies in recent weeks, officials said, while Kyiv temperature forecasts warn of plunging lows next week.
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203 Articles
Power outages hit Ukraine and Moldova as Kyiv faces winter cold
Emergency power cuts swept across several Ukrainian cities as well as neighbouring Moldova on Saturday, officials said, amid a commitment from the Kremlin to U.S. President Donald Trump to pause strikes on Kyiv as Ukraine battles one of its bleakest winters in years.
The Kremlin announced that the limited ceasefire would last until today.
In Ukraine, government figures indicate that there have been widespread power outages due to a technical disruption.
In the midst of Russian attacks and power and heating failures in Kyiv, new Ukraine negotiations are starting in Abu Dhabi. And: Germany in the final of the Handball-EM
Ukrainian energy workers have restored electricity supply to all regions of the country after a power outage that affected the entire electricity system on the morning of Saturday, January 31, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy Denys Shmyhal announced on Saturday evening.
Today, the warring parties want to continue negotiating on a possible end to the almost four years of conflict. Will Russia resume its attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities after that?
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