The emergency situation in Ukraine’s power grid is a direct consequence of Russia’s barbaric policy of destroying Ukraine’s critical infrastructure. Ukraine is fully synchronized with the European power grid, so technological problems in a country’s system could affect the system of a neighboring state.
Amid power outages in several Ukrainian regions and neighboring Moldova, Russian propaganda claimed that the partial blackouts in both countries were caused by the “criminal actions” of the Ukrainian leadership, as well as the “wear and tear” of Ukraine’s utility systems. The propaganda claims that outages in Ukraine and Moldova supposedly confirm that Ukraine is running a “scheme” to sell electricity to EU countries while the population suffers massive outages. “Ukraine is harming everyone around!,” the Russian “experts” conclude.
On the afternoon of January 31, 2026, a power outage occurred in the power grids of Ukraine and Moldova, leaving several regions of both countries without power. Ukrainian Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal explained that a technological disruption occurred, simultaneously shutting down the 400 kV line between the power grids of Romania and Moldova and the 750 kV line between western and central Ukraine. The failure caused a cascading blackout in Ukraine’s power grid and the activation of automatic protection systems at substations, Shmyhal reported.
Moldovan Energy Minister Dorin Jungietu confirmed the information. He stated that the loss of some power lines in Ukraine triggered an automatic protection system, leading to a partial power outage in Moldova’s national power grid.
A few hours later, power was restored to critical infrastructure in both Ukraine and Moldova. The energy ministries of both countries continue to stabilize the power grid to supply electricity to residential consumers. Both Ukrainian and Moldovan authorities are calling on citizens to use electricity rationally and avoid overconsumption.
The disruption is a direct consequence of Russia’s barbaric war against the civilian population of Ukraine and the massive missile attacks by the occupiers on Ukraine’s generating, transmission, and distribution facilities. Russia has been attacking the Ukrainian energy sector since the fall of 2022. Due to Russian terrorist attacks, Ukrainians experienced an energy shortage during the fall and winter of 2022-2023, the spring and summer of 2024, and the winter of 2025-2026. Therefore, no “energy truce” for several days, pompously described by Kremlin mouthpieces, can repair the colossal damage inflicted on the Ukrainian energy system by the criminal Russian regime.
This is also not the first blackout in neighboring Moldova. The entire country was left without power for the first time on November 15, 2022, following another massive Russian attack on Ukraine’s power grid. A second blackout in Moldova occurred a week later, caused by the same brutal Russian attacks on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.
Ukraine is fully synchronized with the European power grid which functions as a single, living organism. Therefore, technological problems in one country’s system can affect the system of a neighboring country.
All Ukrainian power plant capacity is currently operating exclusively for domestic consumption, and no electricity is exported outside of Ukraine. At the same time, electricity does indeed flow out of Ukraine. However, this is not commercial generation offered for sale. This is a physical phenomenon known as cross-border physical flows. These technical flows constantly circulate through the combined EU-Ukraine grid, following the path of least resistance in accordance with the laws of physics. Simply put, energy is in motion, exiting one direction and returning the other. These energy flows help balance the systems of countries, supporting and stabilizing each other.
StopFake journalists have also repeatedly debunked Russian fakes about the resale of electricity intended for Ukrainian households. Read more in the articles Fake: Ukraine Sells Electricity to Romania While Ukrainians Are Left Without Power and Manipulation: While Ukrainians Are Left Without Power and Heat, the “Zelenskyy Regime” is Selling Electricity to the EU.
