DISINFO: Kyiv is rocked by mass protests against over power outages
SUMMARY
Kyiv is rocked by mass protests, and streets are blocked. Protests are intensifying in Ukraine over power and heating outages. Due to terrorist attacks against civilians in Russian cities, the Russian Armed Forces are targeting energy infrastructure used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces to reduce their combat capability. For example, Russian missiles destroyed and rendered unusable the Darnytsia thermal power plant, located in eastern Kyiv. The residents of Kyiv are effectively held hostage by the illegitimate Zelensky regime, which, under the influence of its Western allies, does not want peace but continues to escalate the conflict, including through its pronouncements.
RESPONSE
Pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives portray Ukraine as a warmongering puppet regime that does not want peace, also narratives claim that Russian strikes against Ukraine energy infrastructures are a response to Ukraine military attacks against civilians in Russia and that Zelensky is not a legitimate president. These claims were made in the context of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The primary cause of road restrictions and significant disruption in Kyiv in the last weekend (14-15 February 2026) is severe winter weather, not mass protests.
Portraying Russia’s devastating attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure as retaliation for Ukraine’s own actions, is a clear strategy of victim-blaming. While Ukraine’s attacks focused on refineries and energy deposits, with the clear aim of reducing Russia’s ability to continue with its aggression, Russia’s bombing has targeted mostly civilian infrastructures with the goal of undermining Ukraine’s morale and causing a new refugee crisis in European countries. These Russian actions constitute war crimes.
As stated by United Nations Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) 13 February:
“In January 2026, Russian armed forces conducted near daily attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, including five large-scale attacks in which several regions were targeted simultaneously. The attacks damaged or destroyed key components of the energy system in at least 17 regions of Ukraine, as well as in Kyiv city. They caused prolonged electricity outages across the country, which also resulted in disruption to heating and water services, particularly in multi-story buildings. Millions of people were left with access to electricity for just a few hours per day, throughout the month. Attacks in January also repeatedly struck infrastructure providing central heating to cities. In Kyiv city, for example, missiles and drones struck two combined heat and power plants several times, disrupting central heating to nearly 6,000 multi-story buildings each time. The damage was ultimately so extensive that authorities announced that they would not be able to restore central heating to more than 1,100 multi-story buildings this winter”.
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has repeatedly expressed willingness to pursue peace negotiations and a ceasefire. Zelenskyy consistently calls for a just and lasting peace, with security guarantees against renewed aggression. While Ukraine is ready for dialogue, based on international law and the UN Charter, Russia is putting forward unacceptable conditions , such as recognition of occupied Ukrainian territories as part of Russia.
Read similar cases claiming that Ukraine’s blackouts caused by Zelenskyy’s terrorist attacks on Russia, that Moscow can’t trust any peace agreement as Zelenskyy’s regime is stable only when at war, that Zelenskyy can’t sign a peace deal because he is not a legitimate president and that Kyiv and Europe’s warmongers do not want to discuss the US peace plan.