‘Only Trump can stop Russia’: Millions face freezing winter, Ukraine energy executive warns

Russian strikes connected Ukraine’s powerfulness grid volition proceed without President Trump stepping in, Ukraine’s apical vigor enforcement has warned, arsenic millions hazard a freezing wintertime without power.

DTEK's Maxim Timchenko spoke retired arsenic Ukraine braced for further Russian drone and rocket attacks connected vigor infrastructure and a time aft Trump met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the 3rd clip to bring an extremity to the astir four-year war.

"Yesterday’s gathering gave america renewed hope. But our task is not to unrecorded from anticipation to anticipation — it is to proceed doing what we person done for 4 years: responding to contiguous challenges and warring each day," Timchenko told Fox News Digital.

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U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shingle hands astatine a quality league pursuing a gathering astatine Trump’s Mar-a-Lago nine connected December 28, 2025 successful Palm Beach, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

"We are profoundly grateful to President Trump for his leadership. We judge helium and his squad are the lone ones who tin unit Russia to negociate and halt the war, unneurotic with the enactment of our partners successful the European Union and different countries," the DTEK CEO said.

Founded by Ukrainian entrepreneur Rinat Akhmetov, DTEK is Ukraine’s largest backstage vigor institution and a backbone of the nation’s powerfulness supply.

Before Russia’s full-scale penetration successful 2022, the institution operated 8 thermal powerfulness stations. Three were aboriginal occupied by Russian forces.

"Today, we run 5 powerfulness stations, and each of them has been attacked astatine slightest 5 times since the full-scale invasion," Timchenko confirmed.

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A seller waits for customers successful a store during a partial blackout successful Lviv connected Nov. 28, 2024, pursuing Russian strikes connected Ukrainian vigor infrastructure amid the Russian penetration of Ukraine. (Yuriy Dyachyshyn/AFP via Getty Images)

He described the harm arsenic unprecedented. "The level of demolition is incomparable to immoderate vigor strategy successful the world. Nothing similar this has happened successful modern history," helium said.

At 1 point, helium said, astir each of DTEK’s procreation capableness was damaged oregon destroyed, with losses totaling hundreds of millions of dollars.

"And I tin accidental that astatine immoderate infinitesimal of time, 90% of our procreation capableness was damaged oregon destroyed," helium explained.

"With this destruction, we mislaid hundreds of millions of dollars successful nonstop damages, and I don't adjacent notation mislaid revenue. So, lone for 2025, our betterment fund was astir $220 million, but if you instrumentality it from the opening of the full-scale invasion, I accidental it's hundreds, hundreds of millions of dollars," Timchenko said.

Despite the demolition and losses faced, his institution has repeatedly restored powerfulness to millions of Ukrainians.

"Since 2022, we person managed to reconnect much than 30 cardinal households and clients," Timchenko said. "We are warring and we are fast."

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A drone hits an flat gathering successful Kyiv during Russia's onslaught connected Ukraine connected Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (Gleb Garanich/Reuters)

"For the past 2 years, it has been highly difficult. Attacks person go truthful aggravated and we unrecorded successful situation mode each azygous time due to the fact that our instrumentality is destroyed, powerfulness stations damaged, and the lone happening we are reasoning astir is however to reconstruct powerfulness proviso arsenic soon arsenic possible," Timchenko said.

He besides added that betterment efforts see resuming state drilling, continuing operation of Eastern Europe’s largest upwind park, and gathering a large artillery retention strategy with U.S. steadfast Fluence.

Otherwise, successful Odesa, for example, astir 600,000 radical person been affected by outages, with immoderate neighborhoods near without powerfulness for days astatine a time.

But Russia’s astir caller large-scale onslaught came connected Dec. 26, erstwhile missiles and drones deed Kyiv and surrounding areas, cutting energy to much than 1 cardinal radical during freezing temperatures.

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DTEK says they person restored powerfulness to 30 cardinal Ukrainian households contempt repeated Russian strikes connected captious vigor infrastructure. (Reuters)

"People person learned however to unrecorded without necessities similar electricity," Timchenko said.

"The somesthesia successful Kiyv was minus 10 degrees and due to the fact that of this attack, we couldn't get water, we couldn't get heat, and of course, determination is nary electricity.

"They attacked america with ballistic and Kalibr missiles and calibers, past 500 drones and different types of missiles," helium added.

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Looking ahead, Timchenko stressed Ukraine’s dependence connected continued support.

"The vigor strategy is astatine the halfway of this fight. Modern beingness simply cannot beryllium without electricity. We request continued planetary support," helium added.