Ukraine Leans on Allies Amid Russian Attacks on Power Grid

With Russian Attacks on Power Infrastructure, Ukraine Relies on Neighbors to Keep Lights On

Due to Russian assaults on its energy infrastructure, Ukraine has faced power cuts and is now relying heavily on central and eastern European neighbors to maintain its electricity supply.

In recent weeks, Ukraine has implemented consumption restrictions and rolling blackouts as Russian forces intensified attacks on its power stations and transmission lines.

Fortunately, Ukraine was connected to the European power grid just hours before the invasion began in February 2022, following preparations that started in 2017. Originally planned as a brief test of autonomous operation, which required disconnecting from the Russian grid, Ukraine remained connected to the western network as Russian forces invaded.

The swift integration was praised by then-EU energy commissioner Kadri Simson as “a year’s work in two weeks.”

Ukraine’s electricity imports from Hungary, Moldova, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia have steadily increased as Russian attacks have intensified. In June, imports reached 858.3 gigawatt-hours (GWh), a 91 percent increase from May, according to Kyiv-based consultancy ExPro. Hungary led the imports with nearly 42 percent of the total.

Slovak grid operator SEPS reported raising power exports to Ukraine from 2.6 GWh in 2023 to almost 40 GWh in January-May this year.

Despite providing substantial electricity, both Hungary and Slovakia have refrained from offering military aid to Ukraine due to their friendly ties with Russia.

These imports, based on bilateral agreements, have allowed Ukraine to limit power cuts to specific hours of the day. However, Ukraine’s domestic power production is declining. The Green Deal Ukraine think tank reported that the country produced 96,800 GWh of power in 2023, down from 103,800 GWh in 2022 and nearly 158,000 GWh in 2021, according to the International Energy Agency.

The US-based Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) warned that the dwindling supply is “eroding Ukraine’s defensive capabilities and directly threatening its security,” according to analyst Maciej Bukowski. He noted that “essential infrastructure is crippled, reducing civilian and economic resilience.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated in June that Russia targets the energy sector “to influence and subjugate nations.”