With Kyiv facing an almost total power blackout in the depths of midwinter, a Ukrainian human rights campaigner has warned millions are facing a catastrophic winter, describing the situation as a “tipping point.” With night-time temperatures plunging to –18°C (0°F), Mayor Vitali Klitschko has issued an extraordinary warning, urging residents who can afford to “temporarily leave the city” as nearly 6,000 apartment buildings remain without heat.

Mr Klitschko said the systematic targeting of every major power plant had rendered the centralised heating system—which millions depend on for survival—dangerously unstable. This raises the immediate spectre of a mass evacuation to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe in a city of nearly four million people. Yuriy Boyechko, CEO of Hope for Ukraine, said: “Kyiv is reaching a tipping point. Millions of people are facing a catastrophic winter. Even temporary measures like portable generators or heating solutions are not enough to meet the scale of the need.”

Mr Boyechko added: “This is a crisis within a crisis. The deliberate targeting of energy infrastructure is turning winter itself into a weapon. Families are trying to survive day by day, but the system is failing them.”

President Volodymyr Zelensky has declared a national energy emergency, mobilising repair crews to work around the clock to prevent water and sewage pipes from freezing, which would make high-rise living impossible. Energy analysts describe the attacks as a strategic attempt to “disconnect the city” and force a civilian exodus through the weaponisation of winter.

Dennis Sakva, an analyst at Dragon Capital, said: “There are two types of heroes in Ukraine: the military and energy workers. Keeping the grid running in these conditions is an extraordinary feat.”

In the Kyiv region town of Boryspil, population 60,000, teams dismantled and rebuilt burned-out electrical systems in temperatures of –15°C. Yurii Bryzh, head of the regional department for private electricity provider DTEK, said: “When power comes back on, people turn on all the electrical equipment in their homes. That collapses the system again.”

For families, hardship is stark. Mykhailo, 39, a scientist, said the bedroom of our five-year-old daughter had fallen to –15°C.  Mykhailo’s wife, Hanna, 43, added: “We have to use all the blankets we have in the house.:

Seventy-six-year-old Zinaida Hlyha said: “It’s hard, but if you imagine what our soldiers in the trenches are going through, you have to endure too.”

Tetiana Tatarenko: “It’s as if life in the house has stopped.” Her neighbor, 89-year-old physicist Raisa Derhachova, lives alone and sometimes plays the piano in what she calls “this terrifying cold.”

She said: “Of course, it’s hard to survive this. We survived World War II, and now this terrible war is upon us.”

The broader energy crisis also poses nuclear risks. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed that repeated military activity has disrupted the electrical grid feeding Ukraine’s nuclear plants, including the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant, Europe’s largest.

A temporary ceasefire was arranged to allow technicians to repair a damaged 330 kV backup line, leaving the plant dependent on its single functioning main line.

Rafael Mariano Grossi, IAEA Director General, said: “Winter protection measures, such as safeguards against freezing in groundwater wells and readiness of emergency diesel generators, are in place. But explosions and military activity continue near multiple sites, including Chornobyl, Khmelnitsky, and South Ukraine, highlighting ongoing nuclear safety concerns.”

As Kyiv endures freezing temperatures, darkened streets, and unstable power, residents face stark choices: hunker down in near-uninhabitable apartments or heed Mr Klitschko’s call to temporarily leave the city. Humanitarian leaders, including Mr Boyechko, warn that without immediate support, the city could reach a full tipping point, with consequences for everyday survival and critical infrastructure, including nuclear safety.