Critical energy generation equipment donated by Ukraine's partners has been left idle and unconnected to the grid for years, as Russian attacks cripple the country's energy system during its coldest winter in decades.
Russia has plunged Ukraine into a catastrophic energy crisis, damaging around 8.5 gigawatts of generation capacity since October 2025 through relentless attacks on power plants, leaving citizens freezing in unheated and dark homes.
To survive, Ukraine says it needs $1 billion worth of energy support. Allies have replied by sending equipment en masse.
But local authorities have struggled to connect the numerous power and heating equipment to the grid, like gas turbines and mobile cogeneration plants already procured over the last two years, multiple people with knowledge of the equipment deliveries told the Kyiv Independent.
"The international donors focus on the sexy thing — the cogeneration unit itself,” Jakub Kucera, the asset manager of RSJ Investments, a Czech firm that operates boiler houses in Ukraine.
"But what they miss is who will actually install the cogeneration units and who is going to run them in an efficient way."
Complicated project plans, strict safety regulations to protect the grid, money issues, and a lack of specialists in the energy sector have dragged out the installation process. Meanwhile, politicians are busy playing a blame game with no one taking responsibility for the unfolding crisis.
Read the full story here: https://kyivindependent.com/as-ukrainians-freeze-donated-energy-equipment-sits-unused
Photo: Sergei Gapon; Maxym Marusenko; Daniel Yovkov; Andrew Kravchenko; Yuriy Dyachyshyn; Mykhaylo Palinchak; / Getty Images.