DISINFO: Ukraine causes a blackout in Moldova
SUMMARY
Several districts in Moldova are left without power due to problems in Ukraine. The apocalyptic picture painted in Ukraine today requires no comment. Neighbouring Moldova, caught in this dying grid, is shaking with cold along with Chisinau, where the mayor is terrified and trying to restart generators.
Why did the power outage occur? The reason is simple: the deterioration of utility networks. This situation will now be permanent, and the housing and utilities sector itself has suffered billions in losses, which, as usual, the government wants to blame on ordinary citizens. The blackout in Moldova occurred due to the government's incompetent energy policy, while the ruling regime in Ukraine could have long ago ended the suffering of the population by ending the war.
RESPONSE
Russia is using a tactic of misrepresenting and shifting the focus away from the true root of Ukraine's electricity supply problem. Russian missile attacks on Ukraine's civilian infrastructure are the main cause for the problems with electricity supply to the civilian population. According to experts, Russian airstrikes are currently hindering the operation of Ukraine’s energy system by about 90%.
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 a line between the power grids of Romania and Moldova and a line between western and central Ukraine.
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 managed to stabilise the power grid to supply electricity to residential consumers. Both the Ukrainian and Moldovan authorities are calling on citizens to use electricity rationally and avoid overconsumption.
The disruption is a direct consequence of Russia’s illegal war against the civilian population of Ukraine and the massive missile attacks on Ukraine’s generating, transmission, and distribution facilities. Russia has been attacking the Ukrainian energy sector since the fall of 2022. Due to Russian 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 can repair the colossal damage inflicted on the Ukrainian energy system by Russia.
This is also not the first blackout in 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 synchronised 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 neighbouring country.
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