Ukraine's power grid nears collapse as Russian strikes plunge families into darkness and cold

Ukraine's power supply is nearing a critical threshold as Russian strikes on its energy grid cause widespread blackouts, leaving millions of families with only a few hours of electricity daily and plunging homes into darkness and cold. Planned power cuts, in place since October, have intensified, with some Kyiv families facing outages up to 20 hours per day. The strikes have severely damaged major power stations, and energy workers face constant danger from near-daily attacks, hampering repair efforts. Officials warn life may become unsustainable if power cannot be maintained for at least four hours daily. Rebuilding damaged plants could take until next summer, while Ukraine has responded by striking Russian oil refineries.