Kazakhstan plans to completely stop purchasing electricity from Russia starting in 2027 thanks to the commissioning of its own power generation facilities, said the country’s Deputy Minister of Energy, Sungat Esimkhanov.
According to him, if the planned power facilities are commissioned in late 2026 or early 2027, Kazakhstan will be able to meet domestic demand without Russian supplies. “If we commission all of our planned power facilities by the end of this year or early next year, I think that in 2027 we will not purchase any electricity from Russia at all,” Esimkhanov said at a press conference.
In recent years, Kazakhstan has purchased electricity from Russia annually due to a shortage of its own capacity. According to the Ministry of Energy, the deficit is decreasing: in 2024 it stood at 2.1 billion kWh, in 2025—about 1.5 billion kWh, and in 2026 it is expected to be at the level of 1–1.2 billion kWh. The government expects to eliminate this deficit by 2027.
Earlier, Kazakhstan’s Minister of Energy Erlan Akkenzhenov stated that the country intends to fully meet the economy’s electricity needs by the end of the first quarter of 2027. To this end, Kazakhstan is implementing 81 energy projects with a total capacity of 15.3 GW and an investment volume of over 13 trillion tenge, or more than $25 billion.
Moving away from Russian supplies will be a significant milestone in Kazakhstan’s energy policy. For the country, this means reducing dependence on external electricity sources and transitioning to a more self-sufficient energy balance model. However, the plan’s success will depend on the timing of new facilities coming online, the condition of the grids, and the power system’s ability to handle peak loads.
The decision also has regional significance. Kazakhstan remains part of the Central Asian power grid and is connected to the Russian power grid, so reducing imports from Russia does not mean a complete technological disconnect. However, from an economic and political standpoint, the move to replace Russian supplies demonstrates Astana’s desire to strengthen its own energy security and reduce vulnerability to external disruptions.
For Russia, this means a gradual loss of a portion of its electricity export demand from Kazakhstan. For Central Asia, it is a signal to accelerate the modernization of power generation, the construction of new thermal power plants, the development of renewable energy, and the improvement of grid reliability, as power shortages remain one of the region’s main infrastructure challenges.
Between April 13 and 19, Ukraine reduced electricity imports by 21%—to 114,900 MWh, according to the DIXI Group analytical center, citing data from Energy Map.
“At the same time, exports increased more than fourfold—from 2,200 MWh to 10,300 MWh—but these volumes remain insignificant and occur only during specific hours of temporary surplus, without affecting the supply of domestic demand,” the center noted.
Throughout the week, Russia continued its attacks on energy infrastructure. In particular, on April 16, another massive shelling of the power grid took place, with energy facilities in Kyiv and the southern regions as the main targets.
At the same time, weather conditions partially stabilized the situation in the power grid. A gradual rise in temperature and sunny weather contributed to a decrease in electricity consumption and an increase in solar power generation, which allowed for partial compensation of the losses caused by Russia and helped avoid large-scale blackouts.
According to DIXI Group data, electricity imports from April 13 to 19 decreased by 15–27% across all sources. At the same time, supplies from Slovakia remained absent for the second week in a row.
Hungary accounted for the largest share of imports—61.8 thousand MWh, or 53.8%. Romania accounted for 27.8 thousand MWh (24.2%), Poland for 24.7 thousand MWh (21.5%), and Moldova for 0.6 thousand MWh (0.5%).
At the same time, electricity exports remained limited and were carried out exclusively during specific hours of surplus—primarily during nighttime and daytime periods with lower load.
On April 9, 2026, PJSC “Ukrhydroenergo” signed its first agreement since the launch of the “Electricity Import-Export” section on the Ukrainian Energy Exchange (UEEX), the company announced on its Telegram channel on Friday.
“It was Ukrhydroenergo that initiated the auction and sold electricity across the Ukraine-Moldova border,” the company noted.
As explained by the company, this agreement marks an important step in the development of exchange-based electricity trading and the expansion of the organized market’s capabilities. The agreement also has practical significance for the entire power system: a separate exchange section for import-export operations makes such transactions more predictable and transparent, allows for better system balancing amid fluctuating demand and generation, and opens up additional opportunities for attracting external resources or selling surplus electricity. As a result, the system gains greater flexibility, and the market gains clear rules of the game for all participants.
“For Ukrhydroenergo, this agreement is the result of the work of an entire team of specialists, as well as a strategic step toward developing a transparent, competitive electricity market integrated with European practices,” noted Bogdan Sukhetsky, Acting CEO of Ukrhydroenergo.
According to him, by initiating such mechanisms, the company is opening up new opportunities for efficient exports, increasing the liquidity of exchange trading, and strengthening energy cooperation with neighboring countries.
As reported, Ukraine reduced electricity imports by 25% in March compared to the previous month—to 942,100 MWh—and resumed electricity exports, which had last taken place on November 10, 2025. Export volumes in March totaled 30,200 MWh.
Electricity imports to Ukraine in February 2026 increased by 41% compared to January and reached 1,262.8 thousand MWh, which is a new monthly import record since the launch of the new electricity market, according to the DIXI Group analytical center, citing data from Energy Map.
“For comparison: in February 2025, imports amounted to 244.2 thousand MWh, which is five times less than in the reporting month,” the center said.
At the same time, there have been no electricity exports for three months in a row.
As noted by DIXI Group, Ukraine’s energy system remained under significant pressure last month. Frosty weather kept electricity consumption high, while Russian attacks caused significant damage to power generation facilities, high-voltage substations, and electricity transmission and distribution networks, creating a situation of chronic power shortages in the energy system, which at times reached 5-6 GW.
Six massive attacks were recorded during the month (more than 60 in total since the start of the full-scale war). After the attacks on February 7 and 26, in particular, Ukrainian nuclear power plants were forced to partially reduce their output, which complicated the balancing of the system and increased the need for imports.
According to DIXI Group, Hungary accounted for the largest share of imports in February – 49%, or 618.0 thousand MWh. Romania accounted for 19% of the resources provided to the country (240.6 thousand MWh), Slovakia – 18% (227.1 thousand MWh), Poland – 13% (159.4 thousand MWh), and Moldova – 1% (17.7 thousand MWh).
Electricity purchases increased in all supply directions – by 18-54% depending on the country.
As the center reminded, since January this year, the capacity limit for imports from EU countries to Ukraine and Moldova has been 2.45 GW, which is a record level for the entire period of Ukraine’s synchronization with the continental European network ENTSO-E (the previous maximum for the Ukraine-Moldova block was 2.15 GW). Taking into account that part of the imported capacity is directed to Moldova, Ukraine has access to about 2.1 GW of commercial imports.
On average, during February, the use of available capacity was 89.5% of the accepted nominal value of 2.1 GW.
“Thus, in February 2026, Ukraine remained a net importer of electricity for the fifth month in a row, and import volumes reached a historic high amid escalating Russian shelling and seasonal growth in consumption,” DIXI Group concluded.
As reported, the key factor contributing to the increase in electricity imports to Ukraine and, at the same time, the price jump on the day-ahead market (DAM) was the increase by the National Commission for State Regulation in Energy and Utilities upper price limits (price caps) on short-term market segments starting January 18, 2026.
At an extraordinary meeting on January 16, the National Energy Regulator set the maximum price limit for electricity on the day-ahead market (DAM) and intraday market (IDM) at UAH 15,000/MWh throughout the day for the period from January 18 to March 31, 2026.
According to ENTSOE data, in February 2026, Ukraine ranked first in terms of the average daily BASE price index on the DAM 21 times (February 1, 4-10, 13-14, 17-18, 20-28) compared to 26 European countries.
At the end of 2025, Ukraine ranked second among 27 European countries in terms of the BASE index on the DAM, which amounted to 5,292.62 UAH/MWh, calculated according to Central European Time (CET).
The Kryvyi Rih Mining and Metallurgical Plant PJSC ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih (AMKR, Dnipropetrovsk region) will raise prices for its rebar and wire rod by $50/ton starting in March this year.
According to a press release issued by the company on Wednesday, the main reason for this move is the extremely high cost of electricity in Ukraine. Electricity prices have continued to rise rapidly in recent years, making them the highest in Europe and seriously affecting production costs.
At the same time, it is noted that in the second quarter of 2024, the average price of electricity reached about $120 per MWh (including delivery costs, excluding VAT), which forced the company to urgently appeal to the Ukrainian government for help in curbing it. Since then, prices have continued to rise, reaching around $230 in February 2026 and exceeding $370 per MWh during peak hours.
“This unprecedented increase in the cost of electricity is forcing the company to take urgent measures to ensure the economic viability of its operations,” the press release explains.
ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih is the largest producer of rolled steel in Ukraine. It specializes in the production of long products, in particular, rebar and wire rod. The company has a full production cycle, with production capacities designed for an annual output of over 6 million tons of steel, more than 5 million tons of rolled products, and over 5.5 million tons of pig iron.
ArcelorMittal owns Ukraine’s largest mining and metallurgical complex, ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih, and a number of small companies, including ArcelorMittal Beryslav.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has announced his intention to stop emergency electricity supplies to Ukraine if Ukraine does not resume oil supplies on Monday, February 23, which were interrupted after an accident on the Druzhba oil pipeline near the Ukrainian city of Brody in the Lviv region in January.
“If the Ukrainian president does not resume oil supplies to Slovakia on Monday, then on the same day I will ask the relevant Slovak companies to stop emergency electricity supplies to Ukraine,” Fico wrote on Twitter.
He also accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of allegedly “refusing to understand our peacemaking approach” and therefore, according to Fico, “behaving maliciously towards Slovakia,” which he believes treats Slovakia “as an enemy country.”
“First, he stopped gas supplies to Slovakia, causing us losses of €500 million a year. Now he has stopped oil supplies, causing us further losses and logistical difficulties. If the West does not object to the Nord Stream gas pipeline being blown up, Slovakia cannot view Slovak-Ukrainian relations as a one-way ticket that is only beneficial to Ukraine,” the Slovak prime minister wrote.
Fico added that he is a “proud and sovereign Slovak” and intends to ask the state-owned joint-stock company SEPS to stop emergency electricity supplies to Ukraine. “In January 2026 alone, these emergency supplies, necessary to stabilize the Ukrainian power grid, were twice as much as in the whole of 2025,” he said.
The head of the Slovak government also stressed that Slovakia has been helping Ukraine since the beginning of the war. “About 180,000 Ukrainians are currently on our territory, we are providing humanitarian aid and organizing joint government meetings. We are doing much more for Ukraine than some other countries,” Fico wrote.
As reported, on February 18, the export of diesel fuel from Hungary to Ukraine was suspended until the resumption of Russian crude oil transit through the Druzhba pipeline, said Hungarian State Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Relations Zoltán Kovács. In his opinion, Ukraine “unilaterally stopped supplies on January 27 for purely political reasons, although technically their resumption is possible.” Statements about the suspension of diesel exports to Ukraine also came from the Slovak side.
Earlier, Hungary and Slovakia asked Croatia to allow Russian oil to be supplied to Hungary and Slovakia via the Adria pipeline. Meanwhile, Slovakia has declared a state of emergency in the oil industry due to the lack of oil supplies.
Croatian Economy Minister Ante Šušnjar, in turn, said that the Adria pipeline is ready for operation, but that there are no technical justifications for any EU country to remain tied to Russian crude oil. “A barrel bought from Russia may seem cheaper for some countries, but it helps finance the war and attacks on the Ukrainian people,” he said.
The transport of Russian crude oil through Ukraine via the Druzhba pipeline has been halted since the end of last month due to large-scale Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
