Ukraine races to fix power plants after Russian strikes

UNDISCLOSED LOCATION, Ukraine (Reuters) – When a Russian attack plunged a Ukrainian thermal power plant into darkness on March 29, 51-year-old Ihor did not have time to think.

He grabbed a flashlight and made his way through the dust-filled control room to save remains of the system as the walls of the station fell, calling out to see if the other essential staff had survived the blast.

“We are scared, like all normal people would be, but this is our work,” said Ihor, who has been at the plant for 23 years.

Russia began a second major assault on Ukraine’s energy system last month, devastating at least eight power plants and several dozen substations.

Kyiv says Russia used more than 150 missiles and 240 attack drones in a single week from March 22, cutting off electricity, heating and even running water to two million Ukrainians, according to a parliamentary estimate.

The intensity of the attacks, which have also targeted solar and hydro-electric power facilities, forced Kyiv to import power and sparked fears about the resilience of an energy system that was hobbled by a Russian air campaign in the war’s first winter.

Russia has said the energy system is a legitimate military target and described last month’s attacks as “revenge strikes” to punish Ukraine for attacking Russian border regions.

A complete collapse of the system that could cut off electricity and water supplies to towns and cities is unlikely for now, the head of national grid company Ukrenergo Volodymyr Kudrytskyi told Reuters last week.

Avoiding energy system collapse depends largely on rapid repairs of facilities like the one visited by Reuters on Monday, where people in protective suits and hard hats worked in a vast hall filled with metal and concrete dislodged and twisted by an air strike.

“To produce in the winter, we need to repair the building construction, the roof,” said Andriy whose family has worked at the plant for generations. “[The equipment] will freeze otherwise.”

The plant asked Reuters not to disclose its location and the last names of its employees for security reasons.