‘People Are Freezing’: Ukraine Workers Rush to Repair Power Station

Dmytro knew his team had to quickly repair their power station, damaged by a Russian strike, to restore heating to nearby communities relying on the plant to stay warm.

Russian forces have escalated their strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in recent weeks, with the most recent attack last month plunging hundreds of thousands into temporary blackouts as temperatures hit zero degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit).

Kyiv says the attacks are designed to cripple its energy grid and sap Ukrainian morale throughout the winter months.

“People are freezing. That’s why we are trying to restore everything as soon as possible and at least supply them with heat,” Dmytro, a 41-year-old turbine operator, told AFP at a thermal power plant, whose location cannot be revealed for security reasons.

Workers like Dmytro are tasked with getting Ukraine’s power plants working after Russian strikes.

They have been under pressure this year, as Russia has carried out 11 massive attacks on the power grid, according to national operator Ukrenergo. 

Moscow has acknowledged striking Ukraine’s energy infrastructure but claims they are legitimate targets as they “support the Ukrainian defense industry enterprises.”

Ukrainian officials have, however, repeatedly denounced the attacks, which regularly cut power to millions of civilians, as “terrorist” attempts to break the population’s morale.

Those strikes have damaged around 90% of the generating capacities of DTEK, a Ukrainian energy provider that gave AFP a tour of a damaged power plant. 

Snow had fallen through the gaping holes in the roof of the destroyed building, dusting some of the station’s rusted turbines. 

“I’ve given my whole life to this work, so it’s a pity to look at this station now, to see the condition it’s in,” Dmytro said.

‘Everybody wants light and warmth’

As they boarded up destroyed windows, workers tried to warm themselves with small wood-burning stoves but they do not do much against the biting cold.

DTEK said its power plants have been attacked almost 200 times since the beginning of the war in February 2022, killing three workers and wounding 56.

Yevgen was sitting in the control panel room when his plant was last hit with cluster munitions – weapons that explode mid-air and scatter bomblets over a wide area.

He ordered everyone to go down to shelter but stayed in the control room as he believed the station would not be able to run by itself.  

“You can’t leave the equipment alone. Everyone wants to have light and warmth at home,” he said. 

The workers “understand the importance of light, the importance of heat, they understand the importance of stable energy system for all Ukrainians,” said Viktor Zinchenko, communications director at DTEK Energy.

In one attack Dmytro single-handedly put out a fire on the roof, despite the risk of collapse.

“I just did it automatically, it had to be done, I didn’t think,” he said.

“If I didn’t do it, I understood it would fully burn down and be even harder to restore.”