Ukraine has lost 80% of international support for its energy sector, expert says

Kharchenko called for resignations of Herman Halushchenko and Svitlana Hrynchuk (former and current ministry heads; the Ukrainian parliament is set to vote on their dismissal on Nov. 18), warning that Ukraine’s partners may now be unwilling to talk to them, given their involvement with a major corruption investigation announced on Nov. 10. He added that European allies were “sending very interesting signals” on the matter.

“Unfortunately, we have already lost international support for Ukraine’s energy sector,” said Kharchenko.

“We have lost at least 80% of what we could have received. It’s becoming a bigger problem every day, and people are feeling it.”

He explained that in the first one-and-a-half years after Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine’s grid operator, Ukrenergo, received about EUR1.5 billion ($1.7 billion) in grants and loans for equipment, materials, and other direct support. A second channel, the ministry-controlled Energy Support Fund, was much smaller and slower.

After the dismissal of Ukrenergo CEO Volodymyr Kudrytsky in September 2024, the company effectively lost access to international credit and slipped into technical default.

“Individual donors are providing some equipment, but that’s only 5–7% of what we had a year ago,” Kharchenko added.

He said the only viable alternative now is Naftogaz, Ukraine’s state oil and gas company, but it has no mandate to help with electricity generation projects.

“Naftogaz can secure funding for gas supplies and repair of its own facilities, but it can’t help the power grid,” the expert said.

“As a result, the electricity sector will receive at most 5–10% of the support it had before September 2024. We feel that reduction directly, especially in longer power outages.”