Kharchenko, director of the Center for Energy Research, was asked whether the brief energy ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia— which ended on Feb. 1 — helped strengthen Ukraine’s power grid. He said the pause allowed crews to work more calmly and spend less time sheltering during air raids.
“Unfortunately, the Russian military has already realized that we prioritize protecting people,” Kharchenko said. “Many energy workers have been killed during the war, so very strict safety protocols are now in place. As soon as an air raid alert is declared in a region, all repair work stops and crews go to shelters.”
He said Russian forces exploit this by launching prolonged attacks designed to slow restoration work. “They understand this and try to keep attacks going for as long as possible to deliberately delay repairs,” Kharchenko added.
Despite the limited timeframe, energy crews were able to restore heat supply from the Kyiv Thermal Power Plant No. 6 to the Troieshchyna neighborhood and the city’s left bank, which Kharchenko described as critical. “This was the weakest link in Kyiv’s system,” he said.
Ukrainian officials reported earlier that since 2022, at least 160 energy workers have been killed while repairing infrastructure damaged by Russian strikes. More than 300 others were wounded while working under fire, according to figures released in April 2025.