Denys Shmyhal

Force in Play

Managing wartime energy crisis

Russia has spent four years methodically destroying Ukraine's ability to keep the lights on. Since October 2022, over 1,400 missiles and 500 strike drones have hit power plants, substations, and the workers who maintain them—killing at least 160 energy workers and erasing two-thirds of Ukraine's thermal generation capacity.

Updated Feb 18

Force in Play

Appointed January 14, 2026

Ukraine began the war with 38 gigawatts of power generation capacity. After 28 months of systematic Russian strikes, capacity has fallen to just 11 GW—while winter demand reached 18 GW on January 15, 2026. Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal told parliament on January 16 that 'not a single power plant left in Ukraine' has escaped Russian attack. The crisis deepened when temperatures hit -19°C in Kyiv in mid-January, leaving 471 apartment buildings without heat as of January 14. A massive Russian attack on January 24 involving 396 drones and missiles left 80% of Ukraine facing emergency power cuts, with half of Kyiv's apartment buildings losing heating and over 800,000 Kyiv households still without power the following day.

Updated Jan 30