12/17/2025 — In the dark and under fire, Ukraine strains to keep the lights on

Ukraine says it needs $1 billion for vital gas imports and new equipment.

From: ABC News By David Brennan

Zelenskyy calls for ‘collective pressure’ on Russia amid fresh strikesThe Ukrainian president is in London to discuss plans for peace with European leaders. ABC News’ Britt Clennett reports.
Gleb Garanich/Reuters

LONDON — Millions of Ukrainians have been plunged into frequent darkness and cold as Russian drones and missiles wage a systematic long-range campaign against the country’s energy grid for the fourth consecutive winter.

Even at the offices of Ukraine’s mammoth state-owned Naftogaz oil and gas conglomerate in Kyiv, emergency generators have been keeping the lights on.

“What I can see from my window — there is an absolutely dark city with only some lights,” CEO Sergii Koretskyi told ABC News during a video interview. “I’m sure people recognize this winter as the most difficult since the full-scale invasion started. We can see power cuts from four up to 10 hours a day.”

Russia’s nightly bombardments have increasingly targeted energy infrastructure in recent months, Ukrainian officials say, often involving hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles.

Ukrainian President Voloydmyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly appealed for more Western military aid to help blunt such strikes. “The Russians’ goal is to hurt millions of Ukrainians,” the president said in a social media post on Saturday

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