- January 27, 2026
- 3:10 pm
- Ukraine
Kyiv is experiencing another energy blow in the middle of winter. After a missile attack by the Russian Federation on the night of January 24, the city is forced to urgently restart the heating system for the third time this season. Almost six thousand homes were left without heat — including those that were already reconnected twice after the shelling on January 9 and 20. For a metropolis with a million population, this is no longer an accident, but a systemic crisis.
In fact, the capital is entering the heating season from scratch again — against the backdrop of frosts down to minus 10–15 degrees. In such conditions, launching the heat carrier turns into a technically complex and risky operation, where any delay means cold in apartments and social tension.
The third blow to heating and the reality of war
About 1330 high-rise buildings remain without heat. The most difficult situation is in the Desnianskyi district, where about 600 houses are simultaneously deprived of water, heating, and electricity. Additional heating points are being deployed in the Troieshchyna neighborhoods: their number is being increased to 145, supplementing the existing network.
City authorities are opening support points where people can stay around the clock. They are placed in schools and social institutions, equipped with mobile boilers, sleeping places, and hot meals. But these are emergency measures — not a solution to the problem.
Kyiv residents are coping in different ways. Some temporarily leave the city, others stay in cold apartments, relying on heaters, thermal jackets, and nearby aid points. This is no longer an exception, but a new urban reality.
Why Kyiv did not repeat Kharkiv’s experience
Amid the crisis in the capital, the same question is being asked on social networks and among experts: where are the promised mini-CHPs and mobile boilers? Why did the distributed cogeneration system, which was talked about back in the fall, not work when it was most needed?
Experts compare the situation in Kyiv with frontline cities — primarily Kharkiv and Zhytomyr. It was there that cogeneration installations were deployed in time. Cogeneration is the simultaneous production of electricity and heat, where the heat is not lost but immediately directed to heating homes. For Kharkiv, these installations became a survival factor.
The paradox is that Kyiv publicly promoted the concept of distributed cogeneration and approved it by a city council decision back in May 2024. At the same time, the capital was further from the front line and did not experience constant KAB strikes like Kharkiv. However, massive and repeated missile attacks on Kyiv’s energy system, especially during frosts, led to destruction that the city had not known before.
Five mini-CHPs that are not yet heating
In the spring of 2024, KP “Kyivteploenergo” announced a tender in the Prozorro system for the purchase of 15 cogeneration installations — from which five mini-CHPs were formed. Why they still do not work in January 2026 became one of the most resonant questions.
The city administration explains: Kyiv is the only city in Ukraine that purchased cogeneration equipment with its own funds. Only one installation with a capacity of 1.5 MW was received as international humanitarian aid in 2024 and is already working for the needs of critical infrastructure.
According to the Kyiv City State Administration, all procurement procedures have been completed, but the project turned out to be extremely complex. The equipment was purchased from different manufacturers — Ukrainian and international. Each mini-CHP is not a generator or a mobile boiler, but a full-fledged energy facility.
To date, five local CHPs have been built, equipped with second-level protection systems. Simply put, they had to be practically “hidden” under concrete, provided with gas supply and complex ventilation. This is what stretched the timelines. Operational testing is now being completed at the stations, after which they should be put into operation.
Mini-CHPs as salvation for neighborhoods, not the whole city
The director of energy programs at Razumkov Center Volodymyr Omelchenko urges not to look for a “scapegoat,” but to soberly assess the scale of the problem. According to him, even if the city received only one installation from partners, the purchase and installation of the rest should not have been delayed.
Seven decentralized cogeneration installations with a total capacity of about 60 MW are too little for the capital. If desired, the city could increase capacities to 300–400 MW, which would have a noticeable effect. Especially if such installations are placed in areas dependent on CHP-5 and CHP-6, as a reserve in case of attacks.
One installation with a capacity of about 22 MW can provide electricity and heat to one or several neighborhoods — about 20–30 thousand consumers. But Kyiv consumes about 1700 MW. That is, one mini-CHP is only 1.5% of the city’s needs. The effect appears only when there are dozens of such facilities.
Energy vulnerability as a legacy of the past
According to Omelchenko, Kyiv’s energy vulnerability is not a new problem. It was laid down back in Soviet times when the city was critically dependent on two large CHPs. More than a million residents directly depend on their operation. The destruction of these facilities automatically leaves huge areas without heat — which partially happened.
In the future, Kyiv needs a new energy supply configuration. Currently, the city covers only about 25% of its own consumption, and after the strikes — only 10–15%. Experts see the solution in the development of decentralized cogeneration, the construction of waste processing plants with energy production, the use of biofuels and biomethane, the creation of energy storage systems (Energy Storage), and the strengthening of external power lines, including from the Rivne NPP.
Only in this way can the capital move from emergency survival to real energy sustainability — and stop entering winter with the question of whether there will be heat in homes. This systemic crisis is currently being recorded and analyzed by NAnews — Israel News | Nikk.Agency.
