The Ukrainian power system survived the winter without large-scale outages, despite numerous forecasts by experts who predicted long blackouts.
The publication “Podrobitsy” in its article “Sickle by experts: TOP of the most scandalous statements about the Ukrainian energy sector” collected the loudest statements that turned out to be far from reality. In particular, the director of the Energy Research Center Oleksandr Kharchenko warned of a possible “total blackout” that could leave the country without electricity for several days. Nuclear energy expert Olga Kosharna predicted strict outage schedules, during which Ukrainians could be left without electricity for up to 20 hours a day. Similar forecasts were made by Viktoriya Voytsitska, stating that if the attacks continue, Ukrainians will have electricity for only 4–5 hours a day.
Among those spreading apocalyptic scenarios were also MP Inna Sovsun, who stated that the housing stock would receive significantly less electricity than expected, and Lana Zerkal, who spoke of possible 16-18-hour blackouts. Yasno CEO Serhiy Kovalenko predicted a worst-case scenario in which the power could go out for 12 hours a day.
Journalists also drew attention to the role of activists, in particular Yuriy Nikolov and Vitaliy Shabunin, who since the summer have been saying that the blackouts will be “at least 8 hours a day” and have urged Ukrainians to rely only on themselves.
In addition to Ukrainian experts, international media outlets have fueled the panic. The Financial Times, The Guardian, The Washington Post, and Politico have spread predictions about a catastrophic energy situation in Ukraine that could lead to a humanitarian crisis.
As Podrobitsy notes, the winter has shown that these forecasts were significantly exaggerated. Despite the constant attacks on the power system, energy workers were able to stabilize the situation, and mass outages never became a reality. This confirms that many of the experts’ statements were either erroneous or deliberately inflated fears among the population.
Recall that according to the results of the sociological study “Energy Situation in Ukraine: Expectations, Challenges and Prospects”, conducted by the Rating group in early February, 69% of respondents consider the actions of the authorities in the energy sector to be effective, while in October 2024 this indicator was lower.
At the same time, 62% of citizens noted that the energy supply situation is better than they expected, another 32% consider it expected. Only 5% of Ukrainians said that the energy supply situation has worsened.
