On Saturday, January 31, Ukraine’s energy system found itself in a state of large-scale crisis. The emergency situation led to emergency power outages in several regions of the country, the stoppage of the capital’s metro, and disruptions in the operation of critical infrastructure. The echoes of the failure also reached Moldova.
According to official information, the accident occurred at 10:42. Simultaneously, a 400 kV power transmission line between the energy systems of Romania and Moldova and a 750 kV line connecting the western and central regions of Ukraine were disconnected. This was reported by Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal.
According to him, it was this combination of factors that caused a cascading shutdown in the country’s power grid and the activation of automatic protections at several substations. As a result, the energy system began to urgently shed load, including at nuclear power plants.
Some nuclear power plant units were temporarily unloaded automatically to prevent more severe consequences for the entire power grid.
In Kyiv, Kyiv region, as well as in Zhytomyr and Kharkiv regions, special emergency shutdown schedules were introduced by dispatch services. These are not planned restrictions, but emergency stabilization measures.
The Ministry of Energy confirmed that emergency shutdowns were applied in these regions at the command of NEC “Ukrenergo”. Energy workers are working in an enhanced mode, and the restoration of power supply, according to preliminary estimates, should take two to three hours.
The situation is under control but remains unstable.
In the middle of the day, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky was informed about the development of the crisis. On his social networks, he reported that he was provided with reports on the incident by Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko and Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal.
According to Zelensky, the cause of the accident was technological failures on the lines connecting the energy systems of Ukraine and Moldova. He emphasized that all necessary response mechanisms are engaged, restoration work is underway, and the key task is to stabilize the system as quickly as possible.
It was against this backdrop that the vulnerability of urban infrastructure became particularly acute.
The first to feel the consequences were the residents of Kyiv. In the capital’s metro, the voltage from external power sources disappeared, causing trains and escalators on all lines to come to a complete stop.
The Kyiv City State Administration reported that train movement is temporarily suspended, but stations continue to function as shelters — on backup power supply.
Simultaneously, emergency power outages began throughout the city, affecting residential areas, businesses, and public services.
Later, “Kyivvodokanal” also reported problems. The company stated that due to the accident in the power system, water supply is absent in all districts of the capital. The timing of restoration will be clarified additionally as the situation stabilizes.
Against this backdrop, information from “Ukrzaliznytsia” became important. The railway company stated that the power supply on the railway, disrupted due to the disconnection of external power, was quickly stabilized.
As of the second half of the day, power supply was restored in almost all regions. Trains continue to run on their routes, stations have light and heating, and heating points are operating normally.
At the same time, the reasons for such a large-scale failure are not fully disclosed officially. Authorities speak of technological factors, but the scale of the accident was so serious that it affected not only Ukraine.
In Moldova, power outages were also recorded in several settlements, including Chisinau. The National Crisis Management Center initially linked the disruptions to unfavorable weather conditions, but this message was later deleted. The country’s government pointed to serious problems specifically in the Ukrainian power grid as a key factor.
The events once again highlight how vulnerable the region’s energy systems remain under conditions of overloads, external risks, and complex cross-border connections. For Israel and other countries closely monitoring the situation in Eastern Europe, this episode is a vivid example of how one technological failure can paralyze a metropolis in minutes and extend beyond national borders.
It is such events that shape the agenda closely followed by readers of NANews — Israel News | Nikk.Agency, analyzing not only the facts but also their long-term implications for regional and global security.