Ukraine in a race against time to avoid the destruction of the energy system

2024-04-09 17:20:31, Kosova & Bota CNA

Last month, Russia launched a massive attack against Ukraine's power system, destroying at least eight power plants and several dozen substations. This left 2 million Ukrainians without electricity, heat and drinking water. The private company 'DTEK' has said that its plants, which meet about a quarter of the country's energy needs, lost 80% of their capacity. Quick plant repairs could avoid a complete breakdown of Ukraine's energy system. Ukrainian officials, however, say that with remaining air defense reserves it has become difficult to decide what to defend first.

When a Russian attack plunged a Ukrainian power plant into darkness on March 29, 51-year-old Ihor had no time to think.

He grabbed a flashlight and went to the dust-filled control room to save what was left of the system as the walls collapsed. He did this while checking to see if the rest of the staff had survived.

"After the first explosions, the lights went out, then the walls collapsed," he says.

Russia launched a second massive attack on Ukraine's power system last month, destroying at least eight power plants and several dozen substations.

Kiev says Russia used more than 150 missiles and 240 drones in a single week. Those attacks cut off electricity, heat and even drinking water for 2 million Ukrainians, according to a parliamentary estimate.

"To produce in winter, we have to repair the building and the roof so that nothing freezes. This reconstruction will take a long time, but it is the main priority of the company", says Andrii, another employee of the power plant.

The intensity of the attacks, which have also targeted solar and hydroelectric facilities, have forced Kiev to import energy and raised fears for the sustainability of an energy system badly damaged by Russian airstrikes in the first winter of the war.

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

"All equipment has been destroyed and for the first time in history the plant stopped producing electricity. Almost 80 percent of the power block equipment is dilapidated. There is major damage to electrical equipment and turbines," Andrii says.

A complete collapse of the system that would cut off the supply of electricity and water to towns and villages is unlikely to happen at the moment, the head of the national grid company Ukrenergo Volodymyr Kudrytskyi told the Reuters news agency last week.

Avoiding a complete breakdown of the power system, however, depends largely on quick repairs at facilities like the one seen by Reuters on Monday, where people in protective suits and hard hats worked in a large hall filled with metal and concrete. spread far and wide as a result of an airstrike.

The company that owns the plant asked Reuters not to reveal the location and names of its employees for security reasons.

The private company DTEK has said that its plants, which meet about a quarter of Ukraine's energy needs, lost 80% of their capacity during the Russian attacks. She said she hopes to repair at least 50% of the damage in the next four months. The total cost of repairs is estimated to be $230 million.

Three nuclear power plants provide most of Ukraine's electricity even after Russian troops took control of the six-reactor Zaporizhzhia facility. This is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe.

But damage to Ukraine's thermal and hydroelectric generation facilities is likely to make it more difficult to meet the country's needs, officials say.

Spare parts are also hard to find.

“This equipment is no longer produced by any factory on the territory of Ukraine, especially since most of it is from the Soviet Union. We are doing everything we can to find spare parts," Andriy says of the factory that began operating at the end of the 20th century.

Protecting energy facilities and other vital infrastructures in a country that is at the same time protecting the front is a big challenge.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and other senior officials call on their allies and partners almost daily to supply Ukraine with more air defense.

"The Russians hit with more precision. Their attacks are not hitting everywhere, they know exactly where to hit... We need more air defense. If we don't have them, nothing will be left", says Ihor, one of the employees of the power plant.

President Zelenskiy says that at the moment his country can get by with the reserves it has, but it has become difficult to decide what to protect first. His request for 25 "Patriot" air defense systems was made as Republicans in the United States continue to refuse to approve military aid to Ukraine in Congress.

At the power plant, repair work continues around the clock, despite the high risk. Another employee, Oleh, said that the fact that the Ukrainians had not given up on defending the country helps him and others to continue their work./ VOA