A severe energy emergency struck Moldova on Saturday, January 31st, 2026, triggering widespread blackouts that paralyzed the capital city of Chisinau and multiple regions. The crisis originated from a catastrophic failure within Ukraine’s electricity infrastructure, which has been systematically degraded by months of relentless Russian military strikes.
According to an official statement from Moldova’s Energy Ministry disseminated via Telegram, a massive voltage drop occurred on a critical power transmission line connecting the two nations. This disruption, stemming from Ukraine’s destabilized grid, forced an emergency shutdown of Moldova’s energy system. Chisinau’s Mayor, Ion Ceban, confirmed that the majority of the capital’s districts were plunged into darkness, reporting that even traffic lights ceased functioning, bringing urban transit to a standstill.
The repercussions of the grid collapse extended beyond Moldova’s borders, severely compounding the existing energy catastrophe in Ukraine. The private energy firm DTEK announced the implementation of emergency power cuts across several Ukrainian regions. In the capital Kyiv, the metro system suspended all operations, and city officials reported a temporary halt to the public water supply, creating a multifaceted humanitarian and urban crisis.
This incident underscores the severe vulnerability of interconnected energy networks in Eastern Europe and represents a significant escalation in the regional impact of the ongoing conflict. Ukrainian energy authorities had not issued an immediate commentary on the specific technical failure that triggered the cross-border outage. The event highlights how military actions targeting critical infrastructure in one nation can create devastating ripple effects, destabilizing essential services in neighboring countries and affecting millions of civilians.