Kyiv Households Face Up To 20-Hour Power Cuts As Russian Strikes Hit Ukraine’s Grid

Households in Kyiv are organising their evenings around rolling blackouts, with some facing power cuts of up to 20 hours, the BBC reported, as Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy network continue to strain the grid.

The scheduled outages began earlier this year than last winter and are lasting longer, as per the report. Ukrainian officials told the broadcaster that life could become unsustainable for millions of people if electricity cannot be supplied for at least four hours a day. Some officials privately warn that the country is already close to that point, the report said.

Kyiv has been the worst hit, with metro trains and trolleybuses at times brought to a standstill. Across Ukraine, hundreds of thousands of people have been without power in recent weeks.

Dinner, Homework And A Blackout On The Clock

Daryna Kulchytska, a single mother who lives in a seventh-floor flat in Kyiv with her two children told BBC that in recent days the family had electricity for only four or five hours a day, at varying times. In one stretch, she said, power came for two hours and then went off for eight.

On the evening described by the BBC, supply continued an hour longer than the advertised schedule, and Kulchytska was rushing to serve dinner and finish her work from home before it ended. The power went off just before 7.30pm. With the lift out of service and water pumps unable to run without electricity, the taps stopped too.

The family brought out torches and LED candles and settled down to a game of Uno before an early night. Kulchytska was wearing several layers of clothing and a heavy coat as temperatures fell indoors and outdoors.

Her 12-year-old son Kyryll, told the broadcaster that the household had no light, water, heat or electricity, and that the fun had gone with it. The family owns a shelf of board games, he said, but they have played each of them too many times already. Kulchytska said that when blackouts cover entire neighbourhoods, looking out of the window often shows nothing because the city has no lights.

Russia, Ukraine Agree To Major Prisoner Exchange

As Russian attacks continue to take a toll on civilian life and critical infrastructure in Ukraine, diplomatic efforts to end the nearly five-year war have yielded a limited breakthrough. Russia and Ukraine have agreed to what officials described as their biggest prisoner-of-war exchange. The announcement followed two days of US-brokered talks in Abu Dhabi, which concluded on Wednesday, November 11.

Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump's son-in-law, announced the agreement after the negotiations, saying both sides had agreed to a major humanitarian release of prisoners. The final numbers were yet to be confirmed. The deal was also confirmed by Russian delegation head Vladimir Medinsky and Ukraine's representative Rustem Umerov.

The talks were the first direct engagement between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations in nine months, although expectations of a major breakthrough had remained limited. Russia and Ukraine have conducted several prisoner exchanges during their nearly five-year conflict.

Diplomatic engagements are set to continue, with Kushner and US envoy Steve Witkoff scheduled to travel to Moscow on Thursday to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin. They are also expected to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Dublin.

The negotiations come as Ukraine continues to face the impact of Russian strikes on its energy infrastructure, with widespread power outages adding to the pressure on households and essential services.