As winter’s chill creeps over Ukraine, a new crisis is settling in—one that goes far beyond the battlefield. Across cities and towns, from Kyiv to Shostka and as far as the industrial east, Ukrainians are bracing for a season marked not just by cold, but by darkness. Russian attacks on the country’s energy infrastructure have triggered rolling blackouts, crippled heating systems, and left millions facing the prospect of days on end without electricity, water, or warmth.
According to Espreso TV, Ivan Plachkov, Ukraine’s former Minister of Fuel and Energy, didn’t sugarcoat the situation: “Indeed, the situation is difficult. We have witnessed massive attacks on energy facilities—substations and thermal power plants. It’s no coincidence that the start of the heating season has been postponed. Energy workers are facing certain challenges as equipment—transformers and other infrastructure elements—need to be restored.” Plachkov emphasized that while electricity can sometimes be restored quickly, heating is a far tougher nut to crack. “The heating season will take place, but we must be ready for situations where electricity supply could be interrupted for a day, two, three, or even a week. And, unfortunately, heating shutdowns are also possible. Therefore, we need to plan how we can get through this period.”
The numbers tell a grim story. As of late October 2025, rolling blackout schedules are the new normal in many regions, including the capital. According to Banking News, families in Kyiv and beyond are often left without electricity or water for six to eight hours each day. But that’s just the beginning. Oleg Popenko, head of the Union of Utility Consumers, warned, “It’s possible that this winter, many cities will be without power for up to 20 hours a day.” Chernihiv and Sumy are teetering on the edge of a total blackout, while Zaporizhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, Kherson, and Kyiv are all facing severe disruptions.
The most recent Russian assault, involving a staggering 405 drones and 28 missiles—including advanced Iskander and Kinzhal types—wreaked havoc on Ukraine’s power grid. The attacks are not random. As Viktor Kurteev, an energy systems specialist, explained to Banking News, “While in 2022–2023 the strikes were random, now Russia is systematically targeting energy production on the left bank of the Dnipro, which has always been more energy-deficient than the right bank.” The aim? To split Ukraine’s energy grid into isolated ‘islands’—fragmenting the country’s unified system and making it harder to move power from surplus western regions to deficit-hit eastern ones.
Gennadiy Ryabtsev, head of special projects at the Psychea Research Center, clarified, “The goal is to fragment Ukraine’s unified energy grid across the Dnipro into separate ‘islands’. That’s why Russia focuses its main strikes on Dnipro hydro plants—which, apart from power generation, contain key transmission nodes. They are also attacking Ukrenergo substations. At the same time, Russian forces are attempting to isolate cities that rely on one or two local facilities, cutting them off from energy supply—such as Chernihiv, Kharkiv, and Sumy.”
As these attacks continue, the knock-on effects are everywhere. Hospitals, like the Central District Hospital in Shostka, now rely on expensive generators to keep critical medical equipment—such as dialysis machines—operational, according to emegypt.net. Kitchens have reverted to wood-burning stoves to prepare meals. Children do their homework by flashlight in underground shelters during air raid alarms. Local volunteers have set up so-called “invincibility points”—places where residents can warm up and recharge devices. Food distribution points have sprung up to help those struggling to secure meals.
Industry is also reeling. Regional enterprises have been warned to prepare for gas quotas, and reports suggest that chemical production may grind to a halt, with other sectors facing drastic reductions in output. The situation is further complicated by Russia’s new strategy of targeting gas infrastructure, which has already reduced domestic gas production by nearly 60%. Ukraine’s Deputy Energy Minister Nikolay Kolesnik noted that underground gas storage is 99.5% full, but imports will continue due to falling production. Even so, experts warn the country could end up 10–15% short of the gas it needs for winter.
Energy companies are scrambling to keep up. Yuriy Korolchuk from the Institute for Strategic Studies told Banking News, “Energy companies are currently recalculating how to restart the system by changing operational configurations. That’s why schedules are released only on a daily basis. Weekly plans may appear by next Tuesday or Wednesday.” Yet, as he pointed out, “It seems the enemy is trying to make us destroy our own grid by overloading stations until they fail.”
Ukraine has tried to compensate by boosting electricity imports from the European Union. According to Ukrenergo chief Vitaliy Zaychenko, agreed import volumes stand at 2,100 MW per hour, but Ukraine is currently using less than 25% of that quota due to damaged transmission lines and price caps. From October 11–20, imports jumped by nearly 70%, but they still only cover about 10% of daily consumption—and mainly in western Ukraine, which needs it least.
The government’s efforts to protect energy infrastructure have drawn sharp criticism. Billions of hryvnias were spent on concrete fortifications (the so-called “turtle” shelters), but these have proven no match for direct missile or drone strikes. Oleg Popenko called the fortification program “largely a corruption scheme,” noting, “They absorbed over 40 billion hryvnias, with inflated costs and no technical studies proving the shelters could withstand hits.” Ryabtsev added, “There’s no type of concrete that can resist a direct missile strike. At best, these shelters protect against side explosions or shrapnel—not direct drone or missile impacts.”
Beyond the physical destruction, the psychological toll is mounting. The constant threat of darkness and cold, the uncertainty about when power or heat will return, and the daily grind of adapting to new hardships have become a fact of life. Yet, as emegypt.net observed, the resolve of the Ukrainian people remains steadfast. Communities are adapting—finding ways to cope and support one another, even as the crisis deepens.
Looking ahead, much hinges on the weather. As Korolchuk remarked, “A cold winter will bring outages even without mass strikes.” And with the start of the heating season already postponed in many cities to November or even December, the pressure is on to find solutions—fast. Bloomberg reports that Ukraine will need to import an additional 4.4 billion cubic meters of gas by March 2026, a daunting prospect given financial and logistical constraints.
For now, authorities have pledged to keep household electricity tariffs unchanged until April 2026, hoping to shield families from skyrocketing costs. But as Alexander Barsuk, head of Yaroslav company, warned, “Prices will rise because businesses’ costs will soar. Electricity for households should cost around 20 hryvnias per kWh, but no one seems willing to implement that.”
In the face of relentless attacks, the Ukrainian people’s resilience is being tested as never before. Their ability to endure, adapt, and support one another may be the country’s greatest resource as another black winter descends.
