Ukraine PM Koretsky: Country Better Prepared for Winter Energy Challenges

Ukrainian Prime Minister Oleksiy Koretsky said on Friday that Ukraine enters the 2026-2027 winter heating season in a significantly stronger position than the previous year, with gas storage levels above 85 percent capacity and key power generation facilities repaired or augmented with additional decentralized capacity.

Speaking at a cabinet briefing, Koretsky highlighted the achievements of a summer-long intensive infrastructure repair programme that received critical support from European partners. Over 600 specialized repair crews worked continuously on restoring electricity generation and distribution systems damaged during the winter 2025-2026 Russian bombardment campaign.

The prime minister noted that underground gas storage facilities now hold approximately 14.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas — enough to sustain the country through even an extended cold period without additional imports. He said this represents a strategic reserve 2.5 billion cubic meters higher than the same period last year.

Koretsky emphasized that the government has also expanded its distributed generation capacity through a programme providing households and critical facilities with micro-generators, solar panels, and battery systems. Over 200,000 such units have been deployed nationwide since spring, reducing dependence on the central grid.

Despite this progress, officials acknowledged that the electricity grid remains vulnerable to targeted Russian strikes and urged citizens to continue energy conservation practices. The government plans to maintain emergency protocols allowing controlled load shedding if attacks damage key generation or transmission nodes.

European Union energy solidarity mechanisms remain on standby to provide emergency supplies if needed. Ukraine's energy minister separately confirmed that cross-border electricity interconnections with EU member states have been upgraded, increasing emergency import capacity by 30 percent compared to last winter.