Last sunday russian forces launched their biggest-ever attack on Ukrainian energy system hitting three out of five thermal plants owned by DTEK (the countrys largest private energy producer)
The strike included over 200 missiles and drones targeting power facilities - a move that brought back memories from almost 3 years ago when the invasion started. One thermal station remains completely off-line; the other two work partially (but nobody knows when theyʼll be fully fixed)
Maxim Timchenko‚ DTEKʼs chief exec asked Western partners for more air-defense: his company which used to make 25% of Ukraineʼs power before the war has been trying to fix things since spring attacks. They managed to restore half of their pre-war capacity but now its back to square one
The timing is extra-bad because winter is here - Kyiv saw its first snow last week. Officials had to start rolling blackouts across regions; something that hasnt happened in months. Power cuts will last several hours daily and affect:
- Water supply
- Heating systems
- Internet connection
- Basic home appliances
Ukrainian government keeps quiet about exact damage details - they dont want russians to know where to hit next time. But one energy worker (who wanted to stay unnamed) said both power stations and distribution points got damaged
The situation with DTEK shows bigger problems: out of their 6 thermal plants one was taken apart to fix others‚ and now three more are damaged. Nuclear plants still make most power but thermal stations usually give about 33% of what Ukraine needs