On the night of February 12, Russia launched another massive attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. Thousands of homes in Kyiv, Dnipro, and Odesa were left without heating, and hundreds of thousands of people were left without water and electricity. Ukrainians, who are experiencing their second winter under attacks on their thermal power plants, say they no longer have hope for negotiations and are simply counting the days until spring.
On the night of February 12, Kyiv, the Odessa region, Dnipro, the Sumy region, and other regions were subjected to Russian shelling. In the capital, the main target of the attack was once again heat-generating facilities. As a result of the attack, the heat supply was suspended for approximately 2,600 residential buildings in several districts of Kyiv. Additionally, more than 1,100 buildings remain without heat due to previous attacks and critical damage to the Darnytska Thermal Power Plant.
Emergency and restoration work continues throughout the country: specialists are launching backup power sources, alternative boiler houses, and modular units for social institutions.
Thomas Peter / Reuters / Scanpix / LETA
These attacks have already become part of a systematic campaign to destroy the Ukrainian energy system. Since the start of the full-scale war, Russian forces have attacked thermal power plants at least 220 times. According to estimates of the Ukrainian side, the country has already lost almost 30 gigawatts of generating capacity-this is equivalent to about five nuclear power plants.
The Ukrainians ASTRA spoke to do not believe in the negotiation process or that Russia will suddenly stop attacking energy infrastructure. People are waiting for the beginning of spring.
“It feels like the whole world is against you,” — what’s happening in Kiev
A resident of Kiev, Zarina [name changed — note ASTRA], calls this winter the most difficult for the entire war. If earlier it could be guided by the schedules of power outages, then after massive attacks on thermal power plants and substations, any predictability disappeared. Electricity, water, and communications can go down at any moment, and nights of massive strikes force people to sleep in shelters, bathrooms, or subway stations. Life turns into a chaotic wait for the next shutdown or alarm.
“Today we have electricity, but tomorrow, after the attack, we don’t have it again. Sometimes it takes three or four days to restore power. There were days when we only had two hours of electricity per day in Kyiv, but now we sometimes have six hours, depending on the area. The most difficult days are when we receive advance warnings that the attacks will last all night. Then we know that the night will be terrible. Sometimes I go to a shelter, but the last time, my neighbor and I slept in the bathroom because we didn’t have the strength to go downstairs,” says Zarina.
Zarina says the main challenge is the cold. Even with heating, the temperature in apartments and offices often drops to a minimum.
“It’s also cold in the office because the room is large and difficult to heat up. We work in jackets and hats. We have chemical heaters, small bags that can be attached to our clothes. I currently have three of them on my body. There are additional heaters, but the cold is still the most challenging aspect. One of my colleagues spends most of her time in a tent, which is warmer due to its better insulation.”
Outside, Zarina has to use a flashlight because there’s no light. It’s dangerous to walk on the streets because of the ice.
“All of this makes you exhausted, depressed, and unproductive. It feels like the world is against you, and you can’t even do basic things. Especially when the attacks keep happening and you can’t sleep. It’s frustrating that Russia is bombing during the coldest days. There was a day when the subway completely stopped due to power issues. The subway is the main transportation between the right and left banks. People were literally cramming into the only bus.”
The girl says she’s lucky because she lives on the right bank, where the heating situation is more or less stable. On the left bank, it’s a “disaster.”
“After the attack on the thermal power plant, people are living without heating, electricity, or water. Many people are going to the ‘non-violence points,’ which are tents set up by the city authorities where people can get warm, charge their phones, and eat.”
Zarina’s grandmother lives in another city. Her power outage schedule is 1.5 hours with power and 4 hours without. She doesn’t leave the house to buy groceries because she lives on the 8th floor and is afraid of not making it back in time when the elevator is working. Therefore, her family orders groceries for her.
Despite the city’s and employers’ assistance, Kyiv residents continue to stay at home, hoping that spring will bring warmer weather.
“Nowadays, many people buy small charging stations for their apartments so that they can charge their devices even when there is no electricity. We also have flashlights. We have a supply of technical water in large bottles in case the water is cut off again, so that we can at least flush the toilet and wash our dishes. When it was 15 degrees below zero, even the generators broke down due to the cold. We are just hoping for a warm spring. However, it can still be cold in April. We are counting the days until the weather improves.”
“The cold kills, kills your mood… Well, it kills everything,” said a resident of Zaporizhzhia
Tatyana, a resident of Zaporizhzhia, also dreams of a normal everyday life. The electricity outage schedule is 15 hours without light and 9 hours with light.
“They turn it off at night and give us a few hours in the morning to do laundry, wash, vacuum, cook, and do all the household chores.”
The woman lives in a private house and says that people “still manage to get by” in their homes.
“I have a gas water heater with a pump, and the pump is powered by electricity. If there’s no power, there’s no hot water. My husband bought an inverter and three batteries. We charge them and connect them through a converter so that the pump can operate. However, the batteries drain quickly, and they need to be recharged regularly. I also installed a relay on the meter to prevent the appliances from burning out due to voltage fluctuations,” says Tatiana.
Before the energy attacks, a resident of Zaporizhzhia had no idea that she was so dependent on electricity.
“We’re so connected to electricity that without it, we’re back in the 1960s, when there was nothing like this. Everything was mechanical.”
In the event of accidents or new shelling, entire neighborhoods are left without heating or electricity, sometimes for several days. People are forced to adapt: they drain water from their systems, live on a strict schedule, sleep dressed, and cook and wash their clothes during the brief periods when electricity is available. According to Tatyana, schools and kindergartens are not operating in person, and education has completely shifted to online formats. Children only attend institutions that have bomb shelters.
“We have non-violence centers at our schools. You can warm up there and have a meal. But they [the Russians] are already attacking these centers,” says Tatyana.
A particular fear for residents of the frontline city is the constant attacks by drones and missiles. According to the interlocutor, the attacks are carried out chaotically — drones fall on shops, private houses, and near residential areas. People are afraid to leave their homes, especially during air alerts.
“They’re all flying around, these drones, looking for places to strike. They want to leave us cold and hungry. They’re hitting shops and shopping malls. It’s a nightmare, it’s so terrible when people just burn in their cars, leaving only a locket behind,” says Tatiana.
Power engineers and utility workers are repairing the damage under the threat of repeated shelling, often at the cost of their own lives. Tatyana calls them “angels.”
“It’s such a hard job. I can’t imagine. They [the Russian Armed Forces], let’s say, have hit, right? And people come right away to fix it. So they’re hitting it again, you know? Right at that spot. How many people have died? It’s impossible to count.”
Despite this, the city continues to live and work. Tatiana used to often visit the local philharmonic. However, this winter, with the increased frequency of drone attacks, she has no desire to go anywhere. “It’s not worth it to die on a bus,” she reflects.
“People are somehow adapting to all this. What can we do? We’re just trying to make it until spring. Of course, the cold is killing us, killing our mood, killing… Well, it’s killing everything. And the desire to do something, you know? The most difficult thing is the fatigue. At first, everyone hoped that the war would end soon. Now, almost no one believes the promises that “the agreement is about to be signed.” We’re living in the present and thinking only about surviving the winter. But you know, we’re holding on somehow. As one country and one people,” says Tatyana.
“Groundhog Day” — the situation in Dnipro
In Dnipro, constant power outages have become a part of everyday life, says Andrey Sopin, a representative of the CNG (Children New Generation) charity organization.
“Nothing has changed — it’s like Groundhog Day. The lights go out, come back, and go out again. Some neighborhoods and even entire cities can go three or four days without electricity or hot water,” he told ASTRA.
CNG is engaged in the evacuation of residents of frontline territories and runs two shelters for refugees in Dnipro. The main problem now is heating.
“Large generators, gas cannons, and heaters are used to save the situation. However, these devices require significant fuel expenses,” explains Andrey. The constant operation of generators has significantly increased fuel consumption.
On February 3, the team was working at the site of the attack, setting up a tent for the residents of the affected building. People needed a place to stay warm, charge their phones, receive first aid, and simply recover. On February 12, after another attack, Andrey was back on the scene, helping with debris removal, coordinating assistance, and supporting people.
The shelling is not limited to residential areas. After the attack on the railway station in Sinelnyki, the railway service was disrupted, and passengers were unable to travel directly to Zaporizhzhia and had to make transfers. CNG volunteers and their partners were on duty at the railway station from 4 a.m., welcoming people from buses, helping them with their belongings, and guiding them to the right trains.
“Hot tea and coffee, support and care — to make the journey a little easier,” the organization said in a post.
DESTROYED THERMAL POWER PLANTS
The Ukrainian authorities rarely publish detailed footage of the destruction of energy infrastructure. Filming and dissemination of such photos and videos are prohibited for security reasons. Therefore, the scale of the destruction remains largely hidden.
However, recently, Associated Press journalists managed to visit one of the thermal power plants that came under attack by Russian troops. The published footage shows destroyed structures, burnt equipment, and piles of concrete and metal. In some workshops, there are no roofs or walls left. Workers continue to repair the facilities in the freezing cold.
Prior to this, on February 3, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte visited one of the Kiev thermal power plants that had been damaged by shelling on the day of the attack. Minister of Energy Denys Shmyhal showed him the aftermath of the strike. According to him, a missile had hit an object that provided heat to the city’s residents. The attack occurred during a period of severe cold weather, with temperatures dropping to -25°C. The Ukrainian side has described the attack as deliberate and has called for increased protection of heat and power supply facilities with air defense systems.
Author: Anna Snegireva
