Klitschko called on Kyiv residents to leave the city due to the energy crisis.

Kyiv has only about half the electricity it needs, facing its worst energy crisis since February 2022, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said in an interview.REUTERS . He called on Kyiv residents to leave the city if they can, to reduce the burden on its infrastructure.

According to him, Kyiv requires 1,700 megawatts of electricity to serve its 3.6 million residents. The current energy crisis is the most challenging problem the capital has faced in nearly four years, beginning in February 2022, the mayor believes.

"For the first time in our city's history, during such severe frosts, most of the city was left without heat and with a huge electricity shortage," Klitschko said.

He added that some Kyiv residents are experiencing power outages lasting up to 18–20 hours a day. Ukraine's international partners have provided additional generators to assist Kyiv. However, about 100 homes are still without heat, Klitschko said.

In addition to repairs and generators, the city opened about 1,300 heating points and worked to install mini-heating plants in some areas to decentralize electricity and heating.

Yesterday, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy Denys Shmyhal announced a state of emergency in the Ukrainian energy sector. He explained that this was necessary to coordinate the actions of all services in Kyiv and the regions. Meetings of the Energy Sector Emergency Response Team and the Electric Power Systems Emergency Response Team of Kyiv and the Kyiv Region were held, he added.

On January 14, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that a state of emergency would be declared in the Ukrainian energy sector . He announced changes to the curfew regulations for movement during extremely cold weather. Kyiv is also working to increase electricity imports, Zelenskyy added.

The Russian Ministry of Defense has repeatedly reported on strikes against Ukrainian energy infrastructure facilities "used in the interests of the Ukrainian Armed Forces." The ministry emphasizes that strikes are carried out only against Ukrainian military and energy facilities and related infrastructure.

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