Kyiv, January 18, 2026 – The Europe Today: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday ordered the ускорation of electricity imports and the provision of additional equipment from international partners as Ukraine continues to battle a state of emergency in its energy sector.
Following a special energy coordination call, Zelenskyy said in a statement on the social media platform X that officials reported on efforts to address the aftermath of recent Russian strikes and on the implementation of decisions aimed at “boosting the resilience” of Ukrainian cities and communities.
His remarks come amid a state of emergency declared earlier this week due to extreme weather conditions and Russian attacks, including strikes on January 9 that left large parts of the capital, Kyiv, without electricity.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that approximately half of the city’s apartment buildings—nearly 6,000 structures—lost access to heating, prompting him to urge residents to temporarily leave the capital. Klitschko added that as of Saturday, around 50 buildings remained without heating.
Zelenskyy said the most severe situation is currently in Kyiv and the surrounding region, as well as in Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia and their respective regions. He noted additional challenges in the Kyiv-region towns of Hostomel, Bucha, and Irpin, which were affected by attacks on Friday evening.
The president also instructed authorities to conduct a separate review in Kyiv of buildings still lacking heating, citing discrepancies between city-level and government-level reports, including differences in reported numbers of affected buildings.
“We need to accelerate as much as possible the increase in electricity imports and the provision of additional equipment from partners. All decisions for this are already in place, and the increase in imports must proceed without delay,” Zelenskyy said.
