Ukraine is nearing a humanitarian catastrophe and needs an energy ceasefire, DTEK CEO Maksym Timchenko said in Davos. Reuters reported his remarks.
According to Timchenko, the key condition is a ceasefire affecting energy infrastructure. “We need a ceasefire in the energy sector. A ceasefire covering energy assets… We are close to a humanitarian catastrophe. People receive electricity for 3-4 hours, followed by outages lasting 10-15 hours. For several weeks now, apartment buildings have been without heating,” he said.
The company’s chief emphasized that DTEK has lost 60-70% of its generating capacity, with total damage estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars. By his estimate, restoring the country’s energy sector will require $65-70 billion and, in many cases, will involve building entirely new facilities.
As Timchenko explained, this is not about piecemeal repairs to damaged assets but about a far larger undertaking. “It is more about creating a new energy system in Ukraine, rather than simply reconstructing what exists,” he said.
At the same time, lawmaker Danylo Hetmantsev said the idea of an energy ceasefire promoted by Ukraine appears unrealistic given Russia’s stronger position.
According to him, the prospects for reaching an agreement with Moscow on halting strikes on energy facilities remain doubtful. “Will it be possible to reach an agreement with the Russians on energy and on them not shelling us? Let’s be objective—they are in a stronger position. Our strikes on their refineries are not as painful for them as the situation in Kyiv and other cities is for us,” Hetmantsev said.
He stressed that this asymmetry in consequences makes such negotiations extremely difficult, as the damage from attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure is disproportionately greater than the impact of retaliatory strikes on facilities inside Russia.