Big freeze causes Russian regional power systems to collapse

Russia is being hit harder than most by the global big freeze that is causing its ageing regional power infrastructure to collapse.

A wave of public service failures in recent weeks left tens of thousands without heating or power in sub-zero temperatures in some of the coldest cities in the world. Regional authorities have been forced to declare emergencies, raising questions about the government’s wartime fiscal priorities.

In Murmansk and Severomorsk, key cities in Russia’s Arctic northwest and home to the Northern Fleet, several thousand residents were left without electricity for four days due to a failure in the regional grid, BRB Russia reports. Initial government promises to swiftly resolve the issue gave way to rolling blackouts and a state of emergency, only lifted after the grid operator Rosseti erected temporary pylons. Regional governors have admitted they are overwhelmed and called on Moscow for help.

In the Far East region of Kamchatka, severe snowdrifts paralysed parts of the peninsula, blocking apartment entrances and cutting off tens of thousands of residents. Kamchatka Governor Vladimir Solodov acknowledged a shortage of snow removal equipment and appealed to Moscow for assistance. Despite publicly assuring President Vladimir Putin that the situation was under control, residents continued to report delays and poor coordination, although the situation is not as bad as in Ukraine where a reported 1.3mn households are without power, thanks to Russia’s relentless bombing of Ukraine’s power infrastructure.

The disruption in Russia’s north was compounded by aggressive throttling of mobile internet across the region. Solodov later requested a temporary suspension of the blocking, citing its interference with essential services. Nevertheless, the State Duma last week passed a draft law in its first reading that would authorise the Federal Security Service (FSB) to limit access to domestic internet services, deepening concern about the balance between security and public service provision, BRB Russia reports.

The recent emergencies follow a string of similar incidents across Russia’s vast territory. In Rubtsovsk, Altai Territory, a heating system failure earlier in January forced the evacuation of more than 120,000 people. Breakdowns were also reported in Ulan-Ude, Omsk, and several smaller cities. Even regions close to the Ukrainian border such as Belgorod have suffered outages caused by retaliatory drone attacks, highlighting the vulnerability of civilian infrastructure.

In most cases, local residents and businesses have had to fill the gap left by overwhelmed authorities. While communal solidarity remains strong, frustration is growing.

“The vast majority of Russian utility and power networks are in need of repair, requiring an estimated RUB4.5 trillion ($50bn),” Andras Toth-Czifra of BRB Russia reported. Despite repeated promises to address the issue, the federal government has so far refrained from committing funds, citing the wartime fiscal environment.

Instead, the Kremlin has delegated responsibility to regional governors and presidential plenipotentiaries, who are expected to manage crises locally and absorb any political fallout. Meanwhile, utility tariffs continue to rise, stoking public anger. Although the main tariff increase has been postponed until after the September federal legislative elections, hikes of over 20% are scheduled for October—significantly above projected inflation.

“We’re on our own—and winter isn’t over,” one Murmansk resident posted on social media.

Ukraine still under attack 

Ukraine ceasefire In Ukraine a temporary ceasefire that avoids targeting energy assets, announced by US President Donald Trump on January 29, seems to be holding. The Kremlin confirmed on January 30 that it would avoid hitting Ukraine power stations and transmission lines, but drone attacks have continued.

Trump requested the temporary pause in an unscheduled phone call with Putin due to the extreme weather conditions in Ukraine. “They say they’ve never experienced such cold,” he said during a Cabinet meeting.

Russia confirmed the pause in strikes but framed it as a gesture of goodwill for upcoming peace talks in Abu Dhabi, which are scheduled for this weekend. “I can say that President Trump did indeed make a personal request to President Putin to refrain from striking Kyiv for a week, until February 1, as a way to create more hospitable conditions for negotiations,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.

Russia fired some 75 drones at Ukraine on the evening of January 30, about two thirds of which were brought down by Ukraine’s air defences. However, Russia’s tactics appear to have changed in the last two days.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on social media: “There were no strikes on energy facilities last night, but yesterday afternoon our energy infrastructure in several regions was hit. We are now observing a shift by the Russian army toward strikes on logistics.” Ukrainians are living in freezing apartments as Putin attempts to freeze Ukraine into submission in the midst of the coldest winter in decades. Temperatures in the capital have plunged to below -20°C and are expected to fall to -30°C in the coming days.

Zelenskiy reports that drones are still hitting targets across the country but seem to be avoiding power assets.

In the Kharkiv region a warehouse belonging to the US coffee machine-maker Flex was damaged for a second time. In Zaporizhzhia, home to Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP), the largest in Europe, shaheed drones struck one of the city’s districts. FPV-drone attacks on Kherson, on cities in Dnipro, Donetsk, Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv and on Nikopol continued “almost around the clock,” according to Bankova.

As of January 30, 378 high-rise residential buildings in Kyiv were still without heating.