Rescue workers at the site of a Russian airstrike on a residential building in Kyiv, Ukraine, 9 January 2026. Photo: EPA / Maxym Marusenko
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky declared a state of emergency in Ukraine’s energy sector on Wednesday as Russian airstrikes continue to leave thousands without power, heating and water, especially in the capital Kyiv.
Noting the “severe” consequences the Russian drone and missile attacks were having in Ukraine’s sub-zero temperatures, Zelensky said that “special attention” would be paid to Kyiv, the worst-affected city in recent strikes, where a task force would be established to coordinate the official response.
Newly appointed Energy Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal will oversee the initiative, which will aim to increase the number of emergency help points available to people in areas affected by Russian strikes, Zelensky added.
Ukraine’s largest private energy company, DTEK, welcomed Zelensky’s decision amid what it called an “unprecedented” situation in the energy sector, according to The Kyiv Independent.
“DTEK’s teams on the ground are working around the clock to restore power across affected regions and we are grateful to every energy worker in Ukraine for their commitment in such extreme conditions”, it said.
Earlier on Wednesday, Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said that the power cuts currently being experienced in the Ukrainian capital were the worst in four years of full-scale war, with residents only having electricity for around three hours each day.
Some 400 residential buildings were still without heating on Wednesday afternoon, Klitschko said, following a Russian attack on Friday that killed four people and initially left 6,000 apartment blocks — over half of Kyiv’s housing stock — without electricity. A ballistic missile strike on the city on Monday further exacerbated the situation, Klitschko added.
On Wednesday evening, Klitschko, who had urged residents to leave the capital when possible after Friday’s attack, criticised Zelensky’s suggestion that the Kyiv authorities had done “far too little” to provide emergency relief to the local population, accusing the president’s comments of “negating the selfless work of thousands of people”.
“They might not have weapons in their hands, but they are also fighting for their country through their tireless efforts”, Klitschko said, adding that the capital’s emergency services were “working around the clock in the bitter cold to repair critical infrastructure damaged by the enemy to restore heat and water to people”.
