As of Dec, energy companies restore half of 8 GW of generation damaged by Russian attacks – Minister of Energy
In the three months of the fall of 2025, the Russian Federation damaged 8,000 MW of generation capacity, about half of which was restored as of December, but the attacks do not stop, said Acting Minister of Energy of Ukraine Artem Nekrasov in an interview with Forbes Ukraine.
"We planned to enter the heating season with 1,000 megawatts (MW) of reserve capacity. That should have been enough for a stable winter. However, in September, Russia began attacking the energy system on a massive scale. There have never been such intense and targeted attacks before," he said.
According to the minister, Russia is attacking not only power plants but also power grids, substations, and gas production infrastructure. As of December 26, there have been nine massive strikes every 10-15 days (another massive attack took place on the night of December 27).
"However, energy facilities in a semi-ring from Chernihiv to Odesa are being shelled daily. By the end of December, more than 2,000 strikes on energy grids and approximately 440 strikes on energy facilities had been recorded," Nekrasov noted. He added that the Russians knock out an average of 60 transformers per month.
The Minister of Energy said that Russia is trying to destroy not only the electricity supply but also the heat supply in cities. The main goal of the Russian Federation's campaign is to sow panic, break resistance, and divide society.
He added that the loss of the energy system's integrity could lead to a significant deterioration in the energy supply on the Left Bank and in certain regions of the Right Bank.
"This will allow them to promote narratives that will divide society. Therefore, a blackout is unlikely to be the goal, because we will repair, reconnect and get out of it," Nekrasov believes.
He also noted that if the Russian strikes stopped now, it would take two months to restore the power system.
