Oleksandr Gindyuk is determined not to be caught by surprise if the power supply fails again this winter.
When Russia attacked Ukraine’s power grid with widespread and repeated waves of airstrikes last year, causing massive blackouts, his wife had just given birth to their second daughter.
“It was very difficult,” Gindyuk, who lives with his family in the suburbs of the capital Kiev, told CNN .
“There is no life in our house if there is no electricity. Without electricity, we have no water, electricity or heating.”
He spent the summer preparing for Russia to repeat its strategy, which was designed to sow terror and make life unsustainable by robbing Ukrainians of heat, water and health services.
“We are completely ready – we have a diesel generator and a powerful 9 kWh battery. We are not afraid, we are ready,” Gindyuk told CNN .
As families like Gindyuk’s prepare for the possibility of another dark winter, Ukraine has rushed to rebuild and protect its fragile electrical infrastructure.
The summer provided a respite for Ukraine’s power grid. Russia has focused its attacks on military targets and ports on the Black Sea and Danube River to thwart Ukraine’s efforts to transport grain and choke off an important income stream.
As the days grow shorter and temperatures drop, Russia has another opportunity to try to break Ukrainian resilience with punishing blackouts. But this winter, defense and energy officials say Ukraine is better prepared.
With limited Ukrainian air defenses in operation last year, Russia was able to easily target the power grid.
This time, the attacks will be more difficult for Russia, according to Ukraine’s deputy head of Defense Intelligence Vadym Skibitsky.
“The Russians can use a combination of missile weapons and attack Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). These will definitely not be as primitive attacks as last year. It will be difficult for the Russians to achieve a result – we are also preparing and understanding how they operate.”
DTEK – the country’s largest private energy company, has spent the last seven months restoring infrastructure, trying to increase production and strengthening defenses at its facilities across Ukraine.
“We restored what could be restored, bought spare equipment and installed defenses around the plants,” DTEK chief executive Maxim Timchenko told CNN .
The company generates about a quarter of Ukraine’s electricity and manages 40% of its grid, making it a prime target for Russian attacks.
Four DTEK employees have been killed while on duty and its power plants have been attacked nearly 300 times since the start of the Russian invasion, according to the company.
“Last winter, determination sustained us. This winter we are stronger and our people are more experienced,” said Timchenko.
Russia launched 1,200 attacks on Ukraine’s electrical system between October 2022 and April 2023, with all of the country’s thermal and hydroelectric plants suffering some damage, according to DTEK.
In a damage assessment report released in June, the United Nations Development Program said Ukraine’s energy production capacity had been reduced to about half of what it was before the Russian invasion.
“Ukraine’s electrical system continues to operate in emergency mode, which affects both power grids and production,” said a note accompanying the report.
The report also outlined a roadmap for rebuilding the electricity sector, prioritizing decentralization, renewable energy sources and greater integration with the European Union (EU).
Ukraine has been linked to the EU’s power grid since the large-scale invasion, allowing it to synchronize and trade energy with the bloc. But the huge wave of attacks on electrical infrastructure last winter threw this issue off balance.
Air defense call
Much of the current focus continues to be on protecting existing infrastructure rather than rebuilding.
Physical barriers have been erected around Ukraine’s high-voltage electricity transmission network, operated by the national energy company Ukrenergo.
“Our goal is to make Russian missile and drone attacks so inefficient that the enemy gives up on this idea,” Ukrenergo President Volodymyr Kudrytskyi told CNN .
There has been an effort to protect critical buildings with sandbags and metal cages to prevent damage from falling debris.
Structures designed to protect against loitering ammunition are also being built around some essential electrical equipment. But none of this can replace more air defense systems – a refrain that echoes at nearly every level of government and throughout the electrical industry.
“It is clear that the key element for protecting electrical infrastructure is air defense,” said Kudrytskyi.
Ukrenergo said it has managed to repair some of last year’s damage and is ready to transmit the increased volumes of electricity needed for the winter.
“About half of the high voltage networks were put out of operation following last season’s massive attacks. It takes months, and in some cases even years, to fully restore them,” said Kudrytskyi, underlining the scale of the undertaking.
The company also prepared equipment reserves, trained repair teams and dispatchers to deal with the consequences of possible attacks, and created backup power supply chains for consumers.
Buying generators and batteries
Oleksandr Prokhorenko, head of an electrical engineering company that installs energy storage systems across Ukraine, has seen a significant increase in demand as people prepare for outages by turning to off-grid solutions.
Building management companies purchased generators and accumulators – rechargeable secondary batteries – to keep water pumping and elevators running. Companies have upgraded to larger generators that can keep the lights on longer.
Hospitals are also preparing for power cuts. According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Health, all hospitals with inpatient facilities have generators to keep vital equipment running, but prolonged outages could mean a reduction in care.
“People continue to buy generators, portable power plants and accumulators for the winter,” Prokhorenko told CNN .
Kateryna Serzhan is one of those preparing for the coming months. She and her two-year-old daughter spent last winter in the Spanish city of Valencia to avoid power cuts, but that meant being away from her husband. This year she is determined to stay in Ukraine.
Serzhan said she knows the risks and, having purchased a heavy-duty rechargeable battery, feels prepared for the worst.
“If this winter is dark and cold, we are ready. The most important thing is that we will all be together as a family,” she told CNN . “I don’t want to give the Russians the opportunity to separate us again.”
See also – US warns Israel against occupying Gaza
Source: CNN Brasil
Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.
