Overview
- A simultaneous shutdown at 10:42 a.m. of a 400 kV line linking Romania and Moldova and a 750 kV line within Ukraine triggered automatic protections and cascading outages across both countries.
- Kyiv lost water supply and suspended its metro, while large parts of Chisinau went dark, halting trolleybuses, disabling traffic lights, and disrupting border and customs processing.
- Ukraine unloaded nuclear plant units and the Chernobyl site briefly lost off-site power, though the IAEA reported no direct impact on nuclear safety.
- By Saturday evening, Ukraine reported electricity restored across all regions and Moldova reconnected its system, and Ukrenergo said nearly all nuclear units had returned to nominal capacity.
- Authorities report no evidence of a cyberattack or external interference, citing ice accumulation as the leading explanation; targeted aid continued in hard-hit Kyiv districts, including 10,000 Warmth Packages delivered to vulnerable residents.