Over 5,000 Kiev buildings without power after Russian attack: mayor

KIEV

People take shelter in a subway station during Russia's night missile and drone attack in Kiev, Ukraine, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)

A Russian aerial attack overnight on the Ukrainian capital has left thousands of residential buildings without heating in minus 14C temperatures, mayor Vitali Klitschko said Tuesday.

"After this attack, 5,635 residential buildings are without heating," he said on Telegram, adding that a large part of the city was also without running water.

A woman was wounded and hospitalised, Klitschko said, adding that several buildings, including a primary school, were damaged.

These new strikes come some 10 days after Moscow's worst attack on Kiev's energy grid since the start of its invasion of Ukraine four years ago.

The attack carried out at dawn on January 9 targeted energy facilities, depriving half the city of heating and leaving many residents without electricity for days in freezing temperatures.

In the night of Monday to Tuesday, Russia fired long-range combat drones before launching cruise missiles towards the city and its region.

Multiple explosions were heard in the city centre, AFP journalists reported.

"Municipal and energy services are working to restore heating, water, and electricity in city homes," Klitschko added.

Russia has been pounding Ukraine's energy system since the start of its invasion — an attempt, according to Kiev, to sap morale and break Ukrainians' resistance.