The front line of an energy war
As we arrive at a power station in central Ukraine, the air raid sirens begin to wail with an incessant, high-pitched sound.
‘‘Down here,’’ an employee says, beckoning to a bomb shelter built during the Cold War. Below ground, about two dozen technicians and engineers sit on wooden benches, hoping that Russian missiles are not hurtling in their direction.
The Kremlin has launched more than a dozen waves of missile and drone attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure since October, in an attempt to freeze the country into submission.
The Times visited a sprawling power station that has been hit on numerous occasions but can still produce some energy, albeit at a greatly reduced capacity. Security concerns mean neither the plant’s location nor the full names of its employees are being disclosed.
About half of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure has been destroyed or occupied by Russia, leading to regular blackouts, and planned power cuts to conserve energy. As winter continues, things will get worse.
‘‘The demand for energy will rise the colder it gets, and we simply won’t be able to deal with it,’’ says Anatoliy, one of the technicians in the bomb shelter.
‘‘There will be more and longer power outages. We don’t know for how long yet, but this is unavoidable, unfortunately. We have basically used up all our reserves of equipment. We physically can’t produce any more energy.’’
This winter has been mild,
but Ukraine’s good luck may not last. Temperatures are set to drop to minus 16C, while minus 25C, or colder, is not uncommon.
Once the air raid alert is over, the damage caused by previous attacks can be seen.
Amid the high-voltage power lines, vast craters are filled with debris. Transformers which allow the safe transfer of electricity to the national grid are mangled and charred. A bomb has shattered every window on one side of the power plant.
Ukraine’s energy chiefs have
described Russia’s attacks as unprecedented. ‘‘No energy system in the world has ever gone through this,’’ said Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, the head of state energy company Ukrenergo. ‘‘There is no thermal or hydro power plant that has not been damaged.’’
Yet Ukraine has managed so far to avoid the apocalyptic scenario of a total energy collapse in big cities – largely due to the heroic efforts and sacrifice of thousands of power plant employees.
‘‘We work days and nights to
get things back up and running again after attacks,’’ says employee Serhii, his face etched with tiredness. ‘‘We sleep a few hours a night, wherever we can. Everyone is willing to work round the clock to keep the power on.
‘‘There’s a limit, though, to what we can do without new equipment or spare parts.’’
At least 35 energy workers have been killed by Russian strikes, including employees who have been targeted as they travelled to repair power lines and gas pipes. ‘‘They track them with drones,’’ Serhii said.
‘‘How can bombing power plants stop the delivery of weapons to Ukraine?’’ Anatoliy says. ‘‘There’s no connection at all. Putin is simply trying to demoralise the population and intimidate the people who work at energy facilities.’’
Orthodox Christians packed churches yesterday for Christmas Eve services, a holiday darkened for many by the conflict between Orthodox neighbours Russia and Ukraine.
Patriarch Kirill, leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, the world’s largest Orthodox denomination, led elaborate services at Moscow’s Christ the Saviour Cathedral. A day earlier, Kirill had called for a 36-hour ceasefire in Ukraine, which Russia President Vladimir Putin agreed to but that Ukrainian officials scorned as an attempt to allow Russian forces to regroup. Reports of scattered fighting in Ukraine yesterday could not immediately be confirmed.
Kyiv residents ventured out into a light dusting of snow to buy gifts, cakes and groceries for Christmas Eve family celebrations, hours after the ceasefire was to have started.
In a video message, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised Ukrainians as ‘‘united as never before’’, and lamented that the conflict had forced many to abandon Christmas folk traditions that prohibited sewing and hunting.
Ukrainians usually observe Christmas on January 7. But this year the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, which is not aligned with the Russian church, agreed to allow the faithful to celebrate on December 25 if they wanted to.