Workers at a Ukrainian thermal power plant fix severely damaged equipment on a sunny winter day while water dripping from melted snow seeps through large breaches in the roof.
A Russian air strike had attacked the factory a few weeks prior, leaving the production floor covered in missile fragments, the walls scarred by shrapnel, and scorch marks.
We now live this existence. The 52-year-old chief of the Production Management Department, Oleksandr, told The Associated Press that workers at a thermal power plant that is meant to generate energy are burning firewood to stay warm and walking on ice floors. Due of security concerns, he only agreed to speak using his first name.
Ukraine’s energy sector has been severely harmed by repeated Russian strikes on infrastructure, which frequently cause rolling blackouts throughout the nation. Moscow unleashed another massive airstrike on Thursday. Nearly 200 drones and missiles, according to Ukrainian authorities, targeted infrastructure, cutting off more than a million people’s access to electricity.
The amount of work being done to correct the sector is enormous. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated in September that the G7 and other allies have given Ukraine more than $4 billion in energy aid since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
A worker speaks by mobile phone inside operating room at DTEK’s power plant after a recent Russian missile attack in Ukraine, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
Image courtesy of Eugeniy Maloletka/Associated Press
According to Oleksandr, who works at the power plant run by DTEK, the biggest private energy business in Ukraine, the station has been unable to reach full capacity since it was first targeted in November 2022 because of ongoing strikes that have destroyed vital equipment. Because of concerns that this information would aid Russia in planning future assaults, the precise location of the plant the AP visited, information on the damage, and even the last names of the employees cannot be made public.
Prior to the full-scale invasion, DTEK produced about 20% of Ukraine’s electricity; however, after the war began, this percentage has fallen to 12%. The business claims that since 2022, Russia has attacked its facilities about 200 times. They further claim that, prior to Russia’s massive attack on November 17, around 90% of the company’s infrastructure had been damaged or destroyed.
According to Oleksandr, he anticipates that the station’s repairs will go on through the winter into the following year and possibly even beyond. The fact that parts for some essential equipment were made in the Soviet Union and are now hard to acquire makes repairs at the factory much more challenging. Some former Soviet nations that are now Ukraine’s friends have contributed equipment to help lessen this.
Western nations may also be able to assist us with equipment, although Oleksandr noted that their electrical grids differ in certain ways.
Since the initial attacks on DTEK’s plants in November 2022 until the most recent significant strike, just half of the company’s generating capacities have been restored. The U.S. government and the European Commission stated earlier this week that they would be contributing $112 million in building supplies and equipment to help DTEK get ready for the winter.
Staff at DTEK’s plant have adjusted to the harsh reality of their daily lives as the war enters its third year. They are well-versed in the protocols. During an air alert, not everyone is able to seek shelter. To monitor activities, a limited staff must stay in the control room, where they run the risk of being hit directly.
Dmytro, 41, a power unit operator at the plant, stated, “You have to sit and wait while monitoring the trajectories of whatever was fired, but the power units keep working so we cannot just leave, we stay in the control room.”
Driven by a purpose to keep the lights on in their town and region during the winter, Dmytro and his colleagues persevere in the face of difficulties.
If not us, who will do it? My family is waiting for me at home as well, but if we all depart and the equipment malfunctions, we will be held accountable, he continued, and the entire city will be without heat and power.
While we here have our own energy front, others are risking their lives on the front lines.
The Associated Press, 2024. All rights reserved. All rights reserved. It is prohibited to publish, broadcast, rewrite, or redistribute this content without authorization.
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