Maxim Timchenko, CEO of DTEK, the largest private energy company in Ukraine, pulls out a piece of paper with bar charts showing how much new electricity his company has brought online this year in the country versus how much Russian bombs have destroyed.
Total electricity goes up, then down, then up, then down - capturing the company's constant rebuilding each time Russian missile attacks take out a facility, which include wind and solar farms and thermal coal or gas-fired generating stations. The Russian strikes are part of a campaign to target energy infrastructure to reduce power in Ukraine as winter looms.
"What other choice do we have?" said Timchenko during an interview on the sidelines of this year's U.N. climate talks, taking place in Azerbaijan. "Sit and wait and pray that they don't hit us, or do our job and bring lights back to our people?"
The nearly three-year-long Russia-Ukraine war , which has left large swaths of Ukraine destroyed, has accelerated a transition to clean energy. At Ukraine's pavilion at COP29, on display is a large smashed solar panel, destroyed in an attack this year.
Russian forces continue to make small but steady gains in capturing Ukrainian territory at a time when there are questions about how much the United States, which has been providing weapons and money, will continue to support the country once President-elect Donald Trump assumes office in January. During the campaign, Trump repeatedly said he could quickly end the war if elected, although he hasn't said how.
