Ukrainian power engineers carry out repair work, despite attacks on the country’s energy system by Russia

On a bright winter’s day, workers at a Ukrainian thermal power plant are repairing badly damaged equipment as drops of water from melted snow seep through gaping holes in the battered roof.
A few weeks earlier, the facility had come under Russian air attack, leaving burn marks, shrapnel scars on the walls, and rocket fragments scattered throughout the production floor.

“This is our life now. Workers at the thermal power plant, which is supposed to produce electricity, walk on the frozen floor and use firewood to keep warm,” Alexander, 52, a production management manager, told The Associated Press. He spoke on the condition that only his first name be used, citing security concerns.

Repeated Russian attacks on infrastructure have severely impacted Ukraine’s energy sector, often leading to rolling blackouts across the country. On Thursday, Moscow launched another large-scale air attack. Ukrainian authorities said about 200 drones and missiles attacked infrastructure, disrupting power supplies for more than a million people.

The scale of work being done to improve the industry is enormous. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in 2022, the G7 and other allies have provided more than $4 billion in energy aid to Ukraine, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in September.

Alexander, who works at a power plant owned by Ukraine’s largest private energy company DTEK, says that since the first attack on the plant in November 2022, it has failed to return to full capacity due to continuous strikes that have left critical equipment in ruins . The exact location of the plant visited by the AP, details of the damage and even the names of the workers could not be released for fear that the information could help Russia coordinate future attacks.

Before the full-scale invasion, DTEK provided about 20% of Ukraine’s electricity production, but after the start of the war this figure fell to 12%. The company says its facilities have been attacked by Russia nearly 200 times since 2022. They also say nearly 90% of the company’s infrastructure was destroyed or damaged, and that was before Russia launched a large-scale attack on November 17.

Alexander says he expects repairs at the station to continue through the winter into next year and possibly beyond. Repair work at the plant is further complicated by the fact that some of the critical equipment was produced in the Soviet Union and spare parts are now difficult to find. To mitigate this situation, some former Soviet countries that are now allies of Ukraine helped supply equipment.

“Western countries could potentially help us with equipment, but their energy networks have different characteristics,” Alexander said.

From the first attacks on its plants in November 2022 until the last large-scale strike, only half of DTEK’s generating capacity was restored. Earlier this week, the European Commission and the US government announced a donation of $112 million in equipment and construction materials to help DTEK prepare for winter.

During the third year of the war, employees of the DTEK plant adapted to the grim reality of their daily existence. They know the protocols by heart. Not everyone can take cover during an air raid. A minimum crew must remain in the control room to monitor operations, exposing themselves to the risk of direct strike.

“We have to sit and wait, tracking the trajectories of what was released, but the power units continue to work, so we can’t just leave, we stay in the control room,” said Dmitry, 41, a power unit operator at the station.

Despite the challenges, Dmitry and his colleagues continue to work, driven by the mission to keep the lights on in their city and region during the winter months.

“Who will do this if not us? I also have a family waiting for me at home, but if we all leave and the equipment breaks down, the responsibility will fall on our shoulders, the whole city will lose electricity and heating,” he said.

“Some people risk (their lives) on the front line, but we have our own energy front here.”