Kyivstar has invested over UAH 3.5 bln in energy equipment since 2022, may double number of generators – CEO
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 and the start of its strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, Kyivstar has already invested more than UAH 3.5 billion in the purchase, installation, and maintenance of energy equipment. Since mid-October last year alone, this amount has increased by more than UAH 300 million, the company’s CEO Oleksandr Komarov said.
"We have already invested more than UAH 3.5 billion. And it will be much more. To give you an idea, today we have more than 4,000 generators: 3,000 of our own plus about 1,000 belonging to third parties. And the number of our own generators will most likely double," he said in a brief interview with Interfax-Ukraine at the Davos Ukraine House on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum.
Asked to comment on the company’s share in the total installed generator capacity in Ukraine, which, according to Economy Minister Oleksii Sobolev, speaking in Davos, already exceeds 1 GW, Komarov noted that approximately 4,000 to 6,000 generators with an average capacity of 10 kW will operate on Kyivstar’s network simultaneously.
"That means we are already talking about capacity of up to 100 MW. That is already a very large amount. If a generator is mobile, that also means vehicles, people, fuel, and technical maintenance. Almost the same applies to stationary generators, because they also need regular servicing," said the head of Ukraine’s largest mobile operator.
He said there is a program under which Kyivstar will import a large number of generators, partly to strengthen its own fleet and partly to cooperate with local authorities. To that end, the company is currently equipping each of its more than 16,000 sites with an automatic transfer switch (ATS).
"Eighty-five percent of the entire network is already equipped with a socket into which a generator can be connected with a single click," Komarov said.
According to him, this work allows the company, in conditions where in nine regions of Ukraine the level of power outages reaches 40–60%, to have only 8–10% of its facilities offline. This, however, is higher than the 3–5% level recorded at the beginning of the current autumn–winter campaign of Russian attacks on energy infrastructure.
The CEO added that an additional challenge is frost, due to which stationary diesel generators do not start reliably. As a result, in addition to scheduled maintenance and refueling, the company has had to carry out unscheduled repairs, the number of which is now "very, very large."
"But overall, it must be acknowledged that the multi-layered system is working. The first blow is absorbed by battery packs. Then the system’s layer management comes into play: we build the site’s operating algorithm in such a way as to extend its operation for the maximum possible period, even if that means degraded performance. And finally, generators and the simply incredible efforts of our people allow us to keep the network running during such a difficult period, while external factors have deteriorated much more significantly," Komarov summed up.
He agreed that the possibility of an even worse scenario exists, but emphasized that Kyivstar’s preparedness for such a scenario is also increasing.
"In the same energy situation at the end of 2022, we would have had zero communications in the country, whereas now network downtime is measured in single-digit percentages," the CEO stated.
As reported, in the third quarter of 2025 Kyivstar served 22.5 million mobile subscribers, which is 3.6% fewer than a year earlier. At the same time, the number of 4G customers increased by 2.4% to 15 million.
In the third quarter of 2025, the company posted EBITDA profit of UAH 7.1 billion, up 21.5% year-on-year. In dollar terms, EBITDA grew by 20.4% to $171 million.