Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, plunged deeper into a humanitarian crisis this week after a massive Russian strike on the capital’s energy infrastructure left thousands of apartment buildings without heat as temperatures fell to minus 18 Celsius, city authorities said.
Mayor Vitali Klitschko urged residents who can leave the city to do so temporarily while crews race to restore power and heating following the strike, which Ukrainian officials said included the new Oreshnik ballistic missile.
Municipal officials reported widespread heating outages, intermittent water cuts, and heavy strain on the electricity grid as temperatures hovered between minus 18 and minus 20 Celsius.
Emergency teams opened mobile heating points to support hospitals, maternity wards, and community centers while utility crews worked to stabilize the system.
Schools stay open for warmth as families struggle
Authorities considered delaying the return to school, but many parents without home heating chose to send their children to classrooms with functioning heating systems.
City emergency services said they continue to prioritize critical infrastructure and residential neighborhoods as repairs progress.
Klitschko said the combined strike was among the most painful the capital has suffered and directly hit critical energy facilities, complicating restoration. He advised residents who have the option to stay temporarily with relatives or friends in areas with power and heat.
Ukrainian authorities said Russia used the Oreshnik hypersonic ballistic missile during the latest assault, part of a wider wave of missiles and drones launched across the country. Officials reported fatalities in Kyiv amid the overnight attacks.
Community response, Jewish institutions offer ‘warmth and light’
Across the Kyiv region, social services warned of severe risks to vulnerable residents, especially the elderly and children, in unheated homes.
Jewish synagogues and schools in the city received emergency fuel for generators and lifesaving heating equipment from the Jewish Relief Network Ukraine (JRNU), which launched a rescue operation to assist communities in Kyiv and other cities.
JRNU also offered evacuation for Jews without heat to the Or Avner Chabad campus in Zhytomyr, where heating systems are functioning. “Jewish communities serve as points of warmth and light in Ukraine’s cities.
People can come to eat, drink something hot, charge their phones, and sit in a warm room,” said Rabbi Simcha Levenharts, a Chabad emissary in the capital.