Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the country’s energy infrastructure has been heavily targeted, resulting in significant challenges to maintaining energy security. This policy paper analyses Ukraine’s response, particularly focusing on the surge in imports of critical energy equipment and fuels essential for restoring damaged energy infrastructure and ensuring a stable energy supply. The study identifies key trends in the import of critical energy equipment, noting a significant increase following targeted attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure by Russia. The paper finds that the share of energy equipment imports within Ukraine’s total imports doubled from 1.4% in 2021 to 2.7% in 2023, with diesel generators being the most imported energy generation equipment due to their perceived reliability and rapid deployment during outages.

Furthermore, our analysis reveals that rapid energy supply is currently clearly prioritised over renewables deployment and expansion, visible in the decreasing share of renewable based generation equipment imports, namely solar PV and wind generation equipment.

The paper also presents additional considerations and policy recommendations that are crucial for ensuring Ukraine’s long-term energy resilience and supporting its integration with the European energy market.

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