Sybiha Urges UN to Prioritize Ukraine’s Power Grid as Zelensky Condemns ‘Unacceptable’ Blackouts

Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha urged UN agencies to make restoring Ukraine’s critical power and heating infrastructure a priority in their humanitarian work, as Russia intensifies its strikes on the country’s energy facilities ahead of the fifth winter of war. Sybiha made the appeal on Friday, Nov. 13, during a meeting with the UN humanitarian chief and emergency relief coordinator Tom Fletcher, whom he briefed on the current situation in Ukraine, including Russia’s strikes on civilians and Kyiv’s recent peace efforts.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. “With winter approaching, [Russian President Vladimir] Putin is trying to deprive millions of households of electricity, heating and water,” Sybiha wrote in a statement on X. According to a UN report published on Oct. 19, Russia’s attacks on Ukraine’s energy grid show clear intent to deprive the civilian population of life’s necessities and may amount to crimes against humanity. The same report showed that Russia has been launching similar attacks since 2022 – including the winter of 2025-26, when attacks on heating facilities turned off heating in subzero temperatures – before noting that the attacks have “intensified.” Zelensky calls outages ‘unacceptable’ Sybiha’s appeal came as President Volodymyr Zelensky criticized local authorities over prolonged blackouts in the Kyiv region – his latest public rebuke over the handling of the energy crisis. Other Topics of Interest A 17-year-old boy was among those killed, while rescuers pulled four people from the rubble after an earlier strike on the city. At least 50 people, including eight children, were wounded. In his evening address, Zelensky said he had held a “tough conversation” government officials, singling out Bila Tserkva, the largest city in the Kyiv region, and Brovary, just east of the capital, where residents were left without electricity “not just for hours, but for several days.” According to the president, local reports painted a different picture from what residents were actually experiencing. “Problems must be solved, not concealed,” he said. Although Zelensky warned that municipal services and individual companies in some regions were not doing their job properly, he praised energy workers, repair crews and rescuers of the State Emergency Service (DSNS), who he said often restore power even under attack. However, where local services fall short, “there must be a response – and a very swift one,” he said. The remarks follow an escalating public dispute between Zelensky and Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko over the capital’s winter readiness. Zelensky repeated his earlier criticism on Nov. 6, saying Kyiv faced the country’s most serious utility disruptions – worse than those in the frontline regions. Klitschko rejected the criticism, arguing that the damage across Ukraine’s interconnected energy system disrupts supply everywhere and that Kyiv cannot be singled out for blame. He also accused the central government of using the crisis against him. Meanwhile, on Nov. 4, Ukraine’s government approved monthly bonuses of Hr. 30,000 ($670) for workers restoring energy, utility and railway infrastructures damaged in Russian strikes. The payments will continue until the end of the heating season. Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi said the decision followed a direct instruction from Zelensky. First meeting of mayors On Friday, Zelensky also met with government authorities and mayors from across the country, including Kharkiv, Dnipro, Uzhhorod, Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi, Cherkasy, Mykolaiv and Vinnytsia. Acting mayors of Odesa, Zaporizhzhia, Lutsk and Rivne also took part, along with representatives of associations of Ukrainian cities and regional councils. According to both Zelensky and Koretskyi, the meeting was the first in this format and will now be held regularly, with preparing cities and communities for winter central to the agenda. Participants discussed how to protect and restore energy supplies, air defense, internal security and communications, as well as how national, regional and local authorities would respond to current and future challenges. Ways to help residents who may face hardship during the winter period were also discussed, including how to keep local communities financially stable. “The key is to ensure that accurate and timely information is received from each region and city about what is happening on the ground, and that appropriate decisions are made,” Zelensky said. The meeting came as Russia continues escalating its winter campaign, targeting civilian and critical infrastructures, including the power grid and water supplies. Moscow has increasingly relied on ballistic missiles for such strikes, while Ukraine continues facing a critical shortage of Patriot interceptor – the only weapons that can successfully deter them. According to Koretskyi on Nov. 4, Russia was launching 300 to 400 drones a day at critical infrastructure, with more than 2,000 strikes having been recorded since August. The strikes continue despite a week of intensive diplomacy, including first trilateral talks between Ukraine, Russia and the US since February.