The Ukrainian Embassy in Slovakia launched a fundraising campaign for alternative power sources on 23 January, collecting over 530,000 euros ($628,285) within three days, according to the "Heat for Ukraine: Urgent Aid" initiative page in Slovakia.
In recent months, Russia intensified its daily terror drone and missile attacks to focus specifically on Ukraine’s power grid. Amid freezing winter conditions, Russian forces continue to strike power stations, substations, and other electricity infrastructure across the country. Most oblasts of Ukraine are enduring scheduled outages, with some areas receiving only a few hours of power per day. The largest energy crisis has hit Kyiv, where electricity cuts and partial disruptions to heating and water supplies have continued for over two weeks.
Ambassador Myroslav Kastran thanked donors at the end of the third day, 26 January. The embassy announced that the first truck carrying generators worth 130,000 euros ($154,107) will be sent to Chernihiv on 29 January, with another shipment worth 100,000 euros ($118,544) heading to Sumy and the Sumy Oblast.
"Your financial assistance will turn into heat and light for residential buildings, hospitals, schools, crisis centers and government institutions, and will create basic energy supply for cities and villages during power outages," the embassy wrote.
The campaign was organized jointly with several non-profit organizations: Integra Foundation, Post Bellum SK, Mier Ukrajine, Človek v ohrození, Pontis Foundation, All4Ukraine, Ambrela, Adra, Srdcom s Ukrajinou, and the Open Society Foundation. A total of 10,895 people made donations.
The Slovak initiative follows similar campaigns across Central Europe. On 18 January, the "Heat from Poland for Kyiv" campaign raised 1.26 million zlotys ($315,000 - $352,000) for generators, sleeping bags, and fuel within three days. The fundraising continues with an increased goal of 10 million zlotys ($2.5 - $2.8 million), and the first batch of generators purchased by Poles has already arrived in Kyiv.
The Czech Republic collected nearly 4 million euros ($4.7 mn) for generators and batteries for Kyiv.
On 19 January, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha instructed all Ukrainian diplomatic missions abroad to initiate urgent fundraising campaigns to support Ukraine's energy sector, following the example of the recent Polish campaign.
