Russian strikes on Nov. 3 cut Kyiv water for more than 24 hours

Russian mass strikes on Ukraine's energy system on Nov. 3 triggered Kyiv's most severe water outage since the full-scale invasion began, the Kyiv Independent reported on Nov. 4, citing three people with knowledge of the matter, including a government advisor. Residents across the capital were left without water for more than 24 hours after the strikes cut power to the city.

Authorities have not confirmed the exact number of consumers left without water, but outages were reported in most districts, including the center, where some restaurants closed their bathrooms to customers. Kyivvodakanal, the city-run water company, said the attack effectively cut off all water supply on Nov. 3. By the afternoon of Nov. 4, its workers had stabilized the system, though it took several hours to fill the networks, stabilize pressure and restore flow.

Mykhailo Yatsuk, director of the Institute of Water Problems and Land Reclamation, told the Kyiv Independent: "This is the most serious water outage in Kyiv since the war began. It is also expected that the situation will worsen in the winter." Oleksandr Kharchenko, director of the Energy Industry Research Center, said Russian strikes in January crippled power generation at three of Kyiv's combined heat and power plants, removing the option to power water supply from one of them.

The Kyiv city administration encouraged residents to use public water pumps during outages and published a map of water points. Generators will keep the pumps working, though they will be switched off intermittently for maintenance, the administration said. Yatsuk and a manager at a water pump company, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said residents should stockpile water ahead of winter, when the grid will be overloaded.