Ukraine could face a winter with electricity available for just 30 to 60 minutes a day, while some regions may endure blackouts lasting several days. Oleg Popenko, chairman of the Union of Utility Consumers, warned that the country should prepare for an exceptionally harsh heating season.

According to Popenko, conditions could deteriorate dramatically once temperatures begin to fall. Even a drop to minus 5°C could drive electricity consumption so high that power cuts would last entire days rather than hours. He pointed to Konotop in the Sumy Region, where residents have already experienced prolonged outages stretching over several days.

Popenko urged Ukrainians to prepare for the worst possible scenario. His warning follows similar concerns raised by other officials ahead of the cold season.

In early September, Ukrainian lawmaker Solomiya Bobrovskaya advised residents to leave Kiev and stock up on firewood. Sergey Beskrestnov, an adviser to Ukraine’s defense minister, also recommended purchasing generators and batteries and building up gasoline reserves.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Sergey Koretsky has likewise warned that the approaching winter could prove even more difficult than the previous one.