Ukraine's power supply close to critical as Russian strikes bring darkness and cold

What the report says

BBC World News reports that Ukraine is facing increasingly severe power shortages after renewed Russian strikes on the country’s energy grid. In Kyiv, families such as that of single mother Daryna Kulchytska are coping with rolling blackouts that leave homes without light, water, heat and internet for long stretches each day. The article says some residents in the capital are experiencing outages lasting up to 20 hours, and officials fear daily life could become unsustainable if electricity cannot be supplied for at least four hours a day.

The report also describes damage at one of Ukraine’s largest power stations, which BBC says it visited but did not name for security reasons. The site has been badly hit by a ballistic missile strike and is now out of service, with workers struggling to repair equipment amid repeated air raid alerts and the threat of further drone and missile attacks. Energy personnel quoted in the story say the work is emotionally difficult and dangerous, and that repairs are being slowed because crews can only work for brief periods between alarms.

BBC says the disruption is part of a broader campaign against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure that has intensified since October. President Volodymyr Zelensky says Ukraine still has enough generation overall, but problems with transmission lines and substations are preventing electricity from reaching consumers. The story notes that Russia’s attacks are adding pressure as winter approaches, raising concerns about hardship, displacement and the impact on ordinary households.