Ukrainians are facing increasingly prolonged power cuts, water shortages and freezing temperatures as intensified Russian attacks cripple the country’s energy infrastructure ahead of winter.
In Kyiv, Daryna Kulchytska, a single mother of two, struggles to manage daily life in a seventh-floor apartment as electricity supplies become increasingly unreliable.
With power cuts following unpredictable schedules, Daryna must prepare meals, supervise her children’s homework and complete her work before electricity disappears.
She says some days residents have electricity for only a few hours, with outages lasting significantly longer.
“The last few days it was only four or five hours we had power, but it’s not at the same times. For two hours we have electricity, then for eight hours we don’t.”
The worsening situation comes as peace talks continue, with US envoys scheduled to meet Russian and Ukrainian leaders on Thursday.
However, intensified Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure have forced authorities to introduce rolling power cuts. Ukraine has responded by targeting Russian oil refineries.
Officials fear conditions could become unsustainable for millions of residents if electricity supplies cannot be maintained for at least four hours daily.
Some officials privately warn that the situation is already approaching that threshold, with certain households in Kyiv experiencing outages lasting up to 20 hours.
The power restrictions began earlier this year than during the previous winter and are lasting longer, leaving many households struggling with darkness and falling temperatures.
For Daryna and her children, the situation became particularly difficult when electricity went off shortly before 7:30pm.
With the apartment lift out of service and water supplies dependent on electricity-powered pumps, the family had to rely on torches and LED candles.
Daryna, her son Kyryll and daughter Olena eventually gathered for a game of Uno before going to bed early.
Twelve-year-old Kyryll, who speaks fluent English after spending two years in the United States, says the blackouts have stripped everyday life of its enjoyment.
“There’s no light, no water, no heat, no electricity. And no fun. All the fun got sucked out with the electricity,” he says.
“We have a lot of board games. We have a whole shelf, but we’ve played them like a hundred thousand times already.”
Across Kyiv, entire neighbourhoods are being plunged into darkness as electricity supplies fail.
Daryna says the blackouts have transformed the appearance of the capital at night.
“You look outside and sometimes you see nothing. You have a big city around but you see nothing because there’s no light,” she says.
Kyiv has been among the worst-affected areas, with metro services and trolleybuses sometimes brought to a standstill.
Nationwide, hundreds of thousands of people have experienced power outages in recent weeks.
The extent of the damage became apparent during a visit to one of Ukraine’s largest power stations, which was severely damaged in a recent ballistic missile strike.
The facility, whose name has been withheld for security reasons, has been reduced to twisted metal, broken pipes and rubble, with its turbines buried beneath the debris.
The attack has forced the entire plant offline.
Volodymyr Kovalenko was working in the control room when the missiles struck at about 3am.
He says the scale of the attack was unlike anything workers had previously experienced.
“It was a very powerful attack. We’d never experienced anything like it. We’d had strikes before – part of the roof had collapsed, it was pretty grim. But this time it was particularly severe.”
Kovalenko, who has worked at the facility for 25 years after following in his parents’ footsteps, describes the destruction as heartbreaking but remains confident the plant can be restored.
However, reconstruction efforts face repeated interruptions from air raid alerts, which sound every 15 to 30 minutes.
During a four-hour visit, seven warnings forced workers to suspend operations and seek shelter as authorities detected incoming drones and missiles.
Workers who cannot reach the facility’s main shelter take cover in the foundations of its towering chimneys.
Vadym Bobyr, who is coordinating the recovery operation, says the repeated interruptions make an already difficult task even more challenging.
“It’s very difficult,” he says. “You’ve mentally prepared yourself to do a particular job, and then… the air raid siren goes off, and you have to get out as quickly as possible.”
The 39-year-old, who has spent half his life working at the facility, says the repeated destruction has taken an emotional toll on the workforce.
“It’s emotionally difficult, because we’ve already repaired all this, got it running again, and now it’s happened all over again. It hurts, but we keep working and getting things done.”
During the visit, another alert warned of an incoming Banderol cruise missile.
Workers rushed through the facility’s narrow passages and pipework but could not reach a designated shelter in time. They took cover behind one of the plant’s thickest walls.
The missile was eventually intercepted about five kilometres away.
Energy workers are increasingly exposed to danger as Russian attacks on power facilities have intensified.
Since August, Ukraine has recorded almost daily strikes on energy infrastructure, with several workers reportedly killed each week.
The attacks have also become more sophisticated.
After the latest alert ended, workers returned to repairing power lines connected to the national grid. However, electricity from the destroyed facility is not expected to resume before the end of winter.
President Volodymyr Zelensky says Ukraine has sufficient generating capacity to meet electricity demand.
He says the major challenge is distributing power to homes and businesses because numerous transmission lines and substations have been damaged.
Russia is also deploying so-called “waiter drones”, which attach themselves to electricity pylons and cables, remaining undetected until they are detonated.
Maxim Timchenko, Chief Executive Officer of DTEK, Ukraine’s largest privately owned energy company, says the scale and intensity of Russian attacks have placed the electricity network under greater pressure than last year.
He says Ukraine’s air defences are also overstretched and cannot adequately protect all critical infrastructure.
“What is different is the scale of attacks and the different types of weapons used in these attacks. This is what is the difference – they’ve doubled in power and in scale”.
Timchenko estimates that rebuilding the damaged power station will take until at least next summer.
He says sustained Russian attacks have reduced workers’ productive time to just one or two hours daily.
“We are fighting for survival of not only the whole country but ordinary people, especially during winter,” Timchenko says.
Kovalenko says maintaining electricity supplies remains essential to the country’s survival, despite the risks facing energy workers.
“Energy is the foundation of everything – people’s lives, the state. Nothing can function without it. I’ve dedicated my entire life to this”.
As temperatures continue to fall, some Ukrainians are considering leaving Kyiv or moving abroad to escape the harsh winter conditions.
For Daryna’s family, the prospect of several more months of blackouts is becoming increasingly difficult.
Kyryll says the repeated disruptions have made it harder to balance schoolwork, rest and everyday activities.
“It’s the worst feeling,” Kyryll says. “When I get home from school, I’m tired. I lay in my bed. Bam! Air alarm. Bam! No lights. Bam! A lot of homework. Bam!”
After putting the children to bed, Daryna admits she has considered moving somewhere safer or warmer.
However, she remains torn between leaving and staying close to friends, relatives and the home she knows.
She says the situation is affecting her mental health and is concerned about its impact on her children, particularly Olena, who has been experiencing nightmares.
Despite the uncertainty and worsening conditions, Daryna says she does not want to abandon Ukraine.
“I don’t want to live without light. But actually people in Ukraine say, OK, without light, but without Russians. Yes, we’re scared, we’re scared a lot. But better for us to be without power, but [also] without Russians.”
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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