Zelensky Skips Davos As Kiev Plunged Into Worst Power & Water Crisis Of War
Ukraine's energy crisis continues, not only with nationwide rolling blackouts, but with fresh overnight Russian strikes on the capital having plunged nearly 6,000 of the city's buildings into darkness amid subzero temperatures.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced Tuesday he is skipping the Davos World Economic Forum (WEF) summit given his country's energy emergency is his top priority. "For now, I am choosing Ukraine, not an economic forum," Zelensky said, but noted the situation could change quickly and that he's urging immediate support from outside partners.
KyivPost reports that "According to the mayor, 5,635 high-rise buildings were left without heating following the strike, nearly 80% of which had only recently had heat restored after outages on Jan. 9." Kiev is experiencing -14C temperatures on Tuesday, or 7 degrees Fahrenheit.
Already, authorities had declared a power emergency, and planned further rolling blackouts to keep the national grid functioning as parts get urgently replaced and emergency repairs are underway. But even water outages have hit Kiev too:
Power and water outages were recorded on Kyiv’s Left Bank, where social infrastructure facilities were switched to autonomous power supplies.
At least one woman was wounded in the overnight strikes, which also involved drones. This month has ranked as the worst for the capital after nearly four years of war in terms of keeping the lights on:
"Municipal and energy services are working to restore heating, water and electricity at homes throughout the city," the mayor said.
Russia's latest air attacks come several days after the worst strikes on Ukraine's energy grid since the full-scale invasion in February 2022. Half of Kyiv had lost electricity and heating as a result of those strikes, which took place on Jan. 9.
Local Ukrainians have expressed extreme frustration, given massive repairs all across the city have just been completely undone:
Mayor Vitalii Klitschko said almost 80% of those buildings had just had their heating restored following the large-scale attack on 9 January, which knocked out power for much of the city. Since then, relentless efforts by technicians had managed to reinstate electricity and gas for thousands - only for that work to be undone overnight.
"I have no electricity and no water," Oleksandr Palii, a 29-year-old veteran, told the BBC. "I didn't sleep until 3am because of the strikes either – there were explosions all night."
Some officials are reportedly advising citizens of the capital region who are in freezing conditions to leave until to the situation is stabilized. Some other parts of Ukraine currently have more access to heating and water.
Still, the overnight drone and missile attack impacted other areas and cities, which has become a nightly occurrence:
- Kyiv's air force reported Russia fired some 339 long-range combat drones and 34 missiles, while DTEK energy company said over 335,000 residents lost electricity after the strikes.
- Sheltering in metro stations, Kyiv residents faced school closures until February as municipal and energy services and repair crews worked to restore heating, water, and electricity.
- The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants over strikes on Ukraine's energy grid, and Ursula von der Leyen announced a €78bn loan to support basic services.
Meanwhile, some anti-Russia outlets worry that Trump's threat to take Greenland will 'distract' from the Ukraine war at Davos. "President Donald Trump’s threats to annex Greenland and impose punitive tariffs on European countries who oppose him are set to dominate the annual World Economic Forum meeting this week," the Amsterdam-based Moscow Times writes.
Minus fifteen.
— inna shevchenko (@femeninna) January 9, 2026
This is no longer weather. This is a weapon.
Russia struck thermal power plants.
Not the front line. Not the army.
Heat. Light. Survival.
Kyiv is dark.
Dnipro is dark.
Odesa is dark.
Minus fifteen.
People will die now without bleeding.
From cold rooms. From… pic.twitter.com/8n5PCI0byx
Ukraine is still expected to be high on the WEF agenda, but all eyes will be on Trump and his interactions with European allies over the pressing Greenland issue. "Europe was anxious when Trump was elected. It’s even more anxious now, largely because of Greenland," a diplomat has been cited as saying.