Up to 20 hours per day of power outages — winter forecast
This winter will be the most challenging test for the energy system of Ukraine since Russia's full-scale invasion. In some regions, people are already experiencing 15–20 hours of electricity outages per day.
The disheartening forecast was made by Maksym Timchenko, the general director of DTEK, the largest private investor in Ukraine's energy sector, in an interview with Bloomberg.
Half of the energy sector's capacity has been destroyed
Since September, Russia has destroyed or damaged over 50% of Ukraine's energy infrastructure. The attacks have not stopped.
Even at temperatures close to freezing, the system cannot withstand the strain. If there are severe frosts, the deficit will be catastrophic.
The hunt for "secondhand"
The main problem is not only the lack of missiles, but also the lack of equipment. There is nothing to replace broken transformers, generators, and turbines. It is impossible to order new ones because the factories will not be able to produce them in time for the end of the cold season.
"We don't have time to start production for this winter," Timoshenko admitted.
Therefore, DTEK is taking an unconventional approach. Teams of energy experts have been dispatched on an urgent tour of Europe. They are visiting closed and retired thermal power stations in the EU. Their goal is to find used equipment, dismantle it, and deliver it to Ukraine as soon as possible.
The company is betting on wind power
Timchenko also identified decentralization as the strategy for survival in the future. The company is investing in wind and solar energy.
The logic is simple: restoring a coal-fired TPP after an attack takes years. A damaged wind farm, however, can be repaired in a matter of days. Despite the war, DTEK continues to build the largest wind farm in Eastern Europe.
Another day, another attack by russia on our energy infrastructure - this time against several DTEK thermal power plants - piling more pressure on the system as temperatures drop below freezing. People are already living with power cuts of up to 15-20 hours in some regions.… pic.twitter.com/9GaTHsSqsM
— Maxim Timchenko (@TimchenkoMaxim) December 23, 2025
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