‘They decided to kill us with cold’: Ukrainians struggle against Russian assault on power network | Ukraine
VAlentyna Ivanivna showed off her new headlamp. He said it was a gift from his grandson. She wears it most evenings while doing household chores: cooking dinner, washing dishes, and stacking plates. “Without power, it’s impossible to plan anything. You can’t even invite people over for a cup of tea because the kettle won’t work. It’s stressful and tiring for everyone,” he explained.
Ivanivna lives in Chernihiv, an ancient Ukrainian city known for its early medieval cathedrals. The border between Belarus and Russia is a short drive through a landscape of pine forests, villages with geese and the occasional wandering deer. In 2022, Russian troops invaded and occupied most of the oblast. They bombarded and surrounded Chernihiv, and after six weeks they withdrew and advanced north.
In the autumn, Russia’s war returned dramatically with thousands of lethal drones. The Kremlin has launched a determined attempt to plunge all of Ukraine into darkness, accelerating its current campaign of mass destruction. It targeted thermal power plants, substations and rescue workers struggling to save the power grid from successive air strikes.
Ukraine is currently experiencing its coldest and harshest winter since 2022. Power outages have become a part of daily life not only in remote villages but also in the capital Kiev. In an interview with the Guardian this month between Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the lights went out in the president’s palace. Cafes, restaurants and shops operate as best they can despite the loud hum from sidewalk generators.
Along with Chernihiv, Sumy and Kharkiv, the region on the Russian border is the worst affected by the epidemic. “We are without electricity 14 hours a day. Today it went out at 5.30 in the morning, came back at 10.30 and disappeared at 13.30. There is no electricity in some districts,” said Ivanivna. The elevator in his nine-story apartment building does not work during power outages. So does the electric pump that supplies water. “There is [no water] “It’s above the fourth floor,” he said.
She and her friend Liudmyla Mykolayivna are regular visitors to the “invincibility point,” a warm tent located in a shopping mall parking lot. It offers sockets, Starlink internet and tea and coffee. Mykolayivna, a 68-year-old retiree, plugged her phone into an extension cord and logged into TikTok. He said that, in addition to social media, he also enjoyed novels and detective stories, and that he read them with a torch while sitting in the dark at home.
“Russia is a terrorist country. They cannot defeat us militarily, so they decided to kill us with cold and leave us without a bath,” said 33-year-old courier Adam Davidenko. She said the electric company disconnected the apartment she shared with her two cats because she was too poor to pay the bill. “I was unemployed for a long time. We survive. We don’t live. I burn wood to stay warm. Sometimes I think about suicide,” he said.
Two weeks ago the Russians destroyed one of the last generation units of the Chernihiv district. regional energy company ChernihivoblenergoIt had built two protective walls made of concrete and sand around the 110kV substation. But there was no roof. Building such a facility would be impractical, and there was neither time nor money to build a new facility underground.
For three days, Russian Shahed drones dive-bombed the complex. A Russian spy plane captured the moment one of two transformers exploded and flames shot up into the night sky; The images were published on Telegram. Subsequent attempts by Ukrainian soldiers to shoot down drones with small arms fire were unsuccessful. Meanwhile, strike drones killed two workers from another damaged area.
“The Russians are trying to completely blacken the civilian population. There is nothing military here. This is a deliberate genocide against peaceful people,” said Serhii Pereverz, deputy director of the firm. He admitted that the plant was beyond repair, walking among twisted relay cables and a burnt metal shell. Smoke was coming out of the second transformer; The oil continued to burn. Nearby was a 2 meter deep crater carved into the soft sandy soil.
The wreckage of several Russian drones lay on the grass. All were Geran-2s, a model originally produced in Iran and now produced by Russia. The name was printed in bright yellow letters on a piece of the tail fin, along with the serial number 2441. Pereverz said he and his colleagues are doing their best to keep the lights on. “We make repairs so that the electricity supply continues. Sometimes our methods are quite cunning. We are smarter than the Russians. Most of our customers understand.” [why their power doesn’t work]. A few don’t.
Vladyslav Kukhar, director of hospital No. 2 in Chernihiv, said non-urgent operations were frequently canceled due to power outages. The building relies on a generator and a large backup battery, Kukhar said. He bought four power banks. “This situation bothers people. It has a psychological and emotional cost. Our doctors and nurses are also people living in the city. They have to endure everything,” he said.
Public anger over the blackout has grown amid a major government corruption scandal. Earlier this month, detectives arrived at the Kiev apartment of Zelenskyy’s friend and former business partner, Timur Mindich. Mindich fled to Poland hours ago amid allegations that he orchestrated a large-scale bribery scheme involving state nuclear agency Energoatom. Other alleged beneficiaries include ministers and senior officials, two of whom have resigned.
Chernihiv journalist Andriy Podverbnyi said that local people were angry with these statements. “Corruption has always been a problem in post-Soviet countries. Even so, this news was an unpleasant surprise. For the men on the front lines and those living with little or no power, this is like a knife in the back,” he said. He added: “This plan was primitive. The people involved were clearly confident they would not be caught.”
Podverbnyi walked down the city’s main street, decorated with photographs of soldiers who died fighting with Russia. He said many young people had left Chernihiv, reducing its pre-war population to 280,000. “Despite everything, I am optimistic. We went through German, Soviet and Russian occupation. The Germans burned my grandmother’s village. We are strong, resilient. The Russians will not be able to break us,” he said.
The situation is perhaps the most difficult for families with children. Anna Kulieva said she and her husband Maksym were especially worried about their seven-year-old daughter Yeseniia when the bombs fell. “Since we live on the eighth floor, we are used to everything except the lack of an elevator. In general, 2022 was worse. Therefore, there are no complaints. Without electricity, we worry about our child’s education,” he said.
Kulieva was walking around her small two-room house with a lantern in her hand; The LED light illuminated the kitchen table and Yeseniia’s classroom work. Kulieva said, “You cannot bathe your child. Or clean your apartment. Children go to school, but there are too many air raids and Shahed. Electricity is cut off and they sit in the dark for several hours. However, they cannot receive a quality education in these conditions. We hope it will get better.”
The neighborhood behind the family’s skyscraper was plunged into darkness. Portable lamps in other apartments cast elegant rectangular lights. The baroque golden domes of St Catherine’s Church, built in the 17th century to commemorate the Cossack victory over the Ottomans, were faintly visible in the gray distance. The leash attached to a dog walking out with its owner appeared like a bouncing red crescent on the street below.
Kulieva said her family has no intention of leaving, despite the war and the betrayal of Ukraine by neighboring Russians who were once considered “brothers”. “The people here are amazing. There’s an incredible unity. The more time you spend in this community, the more you appreciate the people around you,” he said. “I believe that we will overcome our economic and political problems. The important thing is to remain human and continue to raise our children with this spirit.”
“It’s not hard to live without light in your home. It’s hard to live without light in your heart.”
