Kyiv Water Returns After Worst Outage of the War as Russia Hits the Grid Again

Kyiv's water supply is back after Russian strikes knocked it out across most of the capital for more than a day, in what a city water official called the most serious water outage since the full scale war began.

The Associated Press reported that overnight attacks on critical infrastructure triggered power and water outages across Kyiv and surrounding regions on Wednesday, November 4. Ukraine's air force said Russia attacked overnight with 310 drones, including 81 jet powered drones. The state grid operator Ukrenergo said Russia had struck energy facilities more than 20 times in 24 hours, after a large attack on Tuesday on power plants and substations across nine regions knocked out power in several areas in and around Kyiv.

The Kyiv Independent reported that the Nov. 3 strikes caused water outages lasting more than 24 hours across most Kyiv districts. Mykhailo Yatsuk of the city water system told the paper this was the most serious water outage in Kyiv since the war began, worse than earlier outages that lasted a few hours. Kyiv's water system depends on electricity, and January strikes on the city's combined heat and power plants had already removed backup power for supply.

A city told to find fountains

While the taps were dry, residents were urged to use public drinking water fountains. Emergency centers were set up in the worst hit areas, offering hot tea and power points where people could charge their phones and devices, AP reported. Tram and trolleybus services were suspended across the capital, and authorities added bus routes to cover the gaps.

Kyiv's water utility, Kyivvodokanal, said later that supplies had been restored. DTEK, Ukraine's largest private energy company, said emergency energy shutdowns in Kyiv ended after repair teams stabilized the system.

Russia's Defence Ministry said its forces hit two power stations in the Kyiv and Zhytomyr regions. Moscow presented the attacks as strikes on energy infrastructure. Its account could not be independently verified.

The same week, a village counts its dead

The Kyiv outage landed in the same week as one of the deadliest strikes of the war. In Komyshuvakha, a village in the Zaporizhzhia region, Russian guided bombs hit a former school used as a humanitarian aid center and a nearby shelter on Monday, November 2. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the death toll there had risen to 40, with about 30 more people possibly still buried in the rubble. That attack and the rescue search are covered in full in our Komyshuvakha report.

Why this outage matters more than the last one

Kyiv has lost power and water before, usually for hours. This time the outage ran past a day and covered most districts, because the strikes hit both the plants that make power and the substations that move it, and earlier damage had already stripped out the backup supply for the water network. Repair crews restored service this time. The grid they restored it to is the same one Russia has now hit more than 20 times in a single day, with winter close.

Ukrainian officials warn that Russia can keep this pace. Ukraine's military intelligence says Russia has capacity to produce more than 200 ballistic and cruise missiles a month. The next test of Kyiv's water and power is a matter of the next barrage, not the next season.