Ukraine scrambling for energy as Russian strikes hit infrastructure

Authorities order emergency imports of electricity as people struggle in subzero temperatures.

Ukraine’s energy minister has sounded an alarm over the energy situation as Russian strikes ​on the country’s infrastructure leave people shivering in subzero temperatures without heating or power.

Denys Shmyhal, who took office ‍earlier this week, told parliament on Friday that there was “not a single power plant left in Ukraine that the enemy has not attacked”.

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Russia, since it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, has each winter concentrated fire on the country’s energy infrastructure in a bid to weaken Kyiv’s determination to defend itself and resist Moscow’s far-reaching demands for territory and limits on its military capabilities.

Shmyhal said the most challenging energy situation is in the capital, as well as the regions of Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv and ‍Odesa. Towns near the front line in eastern Ukraine are also filled with thousands of homes that have been without electricity and heating for days in subzero conditions.

“In some cities and regions, winter preparations have failed. Over the past two days in office, I’ve seen ​that many things are clearly stalling,” ‌he said.

The minister has ordered emergency imports of electricity, while declaring that Ukraine needs to install up to 2.7 GW of generation ‍capacity by the end of the year if it is to meet its consumption needs.

“State companies, primarily Ukrainian Railways and Naftogaz, must urgently ensure the procurement of imported electric energy during the 2025-26 heating season, amounting to at least 50 percent of total consumption,” Shmyhal said.

His ministry estimates that Ukraine has fuel reserves ‍for just 20 days. It did not give data on how much electricity Ukraine currently generates or imports, information that authorities have withheld due to wartime sensitivities.

Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko has introduced measures to try to help with the emergency, including reducing overnight curfews to allow people to access central heating and power hubs and extending school holidays in Kyiv until February 1.

Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said ‌the foreign and energy ministries had organised an international appeal for funds to help tackle Ukraine’s energy problems, similar to periodic meetings on arms supplies. ‌Norway, he said, had made an initial grant of $200m.

Russia has attacked the power grid and other energy facilities while pressing a battlefield offensive that has left Kyiv on the back foot as it faces US pressure to secure peace.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Thursday that ‌about 300 apartment buildings in the capital remained without heat after a January 9 attack knocked out heating to half the city’s high-rises.

Kharkiv’s Mayor Ihor Terekhov said Russian ‍forces destroyed a large energy facility in Ukraine’s second-biggest city on Thursday.

He did not specify what sort of facility had been hit, but said emergency crews were working around ​the clock. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the attack had left 400,000 people without electricity.

Kharkiv, 25 kilometres (15 miles) from the Russian border, has ‌been regularly targeted by drones, missiles and glide bombs throughout the war.