KYIV, Ukraine — With rolling blackouts across Ukraine and four million people forced to restrict power usage, the head of the utility grid warned that Russia’s aerial assault on the nation’s energy infrastructure is limiting its ability to make repairs.
Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, the chief executive of Ukrenergo, said that the Russian targeting has been so precise that the Russian military is most likely being guided by energy experts.
“I cannot imagine that military experts would know what combination of things needs to be hit to cause the most damage,” he said in an interview on Friday.
The Russians have hit ultra-high-voltage lines that are the backbone of the grid; the substations for certain regions; the substations that move power from the power plants; and the power plants themselves.
And they have hit many critical sites more than once, Mr. Kudrytskyi said, making the job of the 5,500 electrical maintenance workers racing to repair the grid before the winter freeze wildly dangerous.
“Imagine, you are an employee maintaining a substation,” Mr. Kudrytskyi said. “You know it is a target.”
An alarm sounds and workers seek shelter in a bunker. But even below ground, he said, workers can hear the roar of the explosion as the power of the missile or drone is compounded by the release of energy from the electrical equipment. A strange odor, which he compared to the smell of burned plastic, fills the air when the all clear is finally given.
Across the power plant, which he said can feel like its own small town, fires fueled by oil used in the machinery burn for hours. Alarms blare two or three times a day. And just as workers gather what is needed for repairs: boom, another explosion. Mr. Kudrytskyi said that at one plant, the building where the repair equipment was kept was hit.
“Everything gone,” he said. “It is really hard to imagine if you are not inside this horrible movie.”
Five utility workers have been killed in strikes and dozens more wounded. Mr. Kudrytskyi said he remained amazed at the dedication of crews working to keep the lights on.
Mr. Kudrytskyi saw the power of the Russian attack drones for himself. He was on the street outside the utility’s headquarters in central Kyiv when the building was struck by a drone two weeks ago.
“I was thinking they were very noisy and slow,” he said. “Unfortunately, they hit hard.”
Debris from the blast still litters the complex. Windows hundreds of yards from blast site are blown out.
That was one of dozens of aerial attacks on Oct. 10 that destroyed 30 percent of the nation’s power stations in one of the most sweeping assaults on civilian infrastructure of the war.
The strikes were the start of a sustained campaign that Russian officials have said is meant to cause civilian suffering and force Ukraine to submit to the Kremlin’s will.
Dmitri A. Medvedev, a former Russian president and prime minister and current deputy head of Russia’s Security Council, said in statement on Friday that Ukraine would regain energy stability only when it recognizes Russia’s demands as legitimate.
“And then the light will come on,” he wrote on Telegram.
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, speaking to the nation from the darkened streets of Kyiv late Thursday, was defiant in the face of Russian threats.
“We are not afraid of the dark,” he said. “The darkest times for us are not without light, but without freedom.”
Oct. 29, 2022
An earlier version of a picture caption with this article misstated the date on which technicians were carrying out repairs in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. It was two weeks ago, not last week.
KYIV, Ukraine — With rolling blackouts across Ukraine and four million people forced to restrict power usage, the head of the utility grid warned that Russia’s aerial assault on the nation’s energy infrastructure is limiting its ability to make repairs.
Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, the chief executive of Ukrenergo, said that the Russian targeting has been so precise that the Russian military is most likely being guided by energy experts.
“I cannot imagine that military experts would know what combination of things needs to be hit to cause the most damage,” he said in an interview on Friday.
The Russians have hit ultra-high-voltage lines that are the backbone of the grid; the substations for certain regions; the substations that move power from the power plants; and the power plants themselves.
And they have hit many critical sites more than once, Mr. Kudrytskyi said, making the job of the 5,500 electrical maintenance workers racing to repair the grid before the winter freeze wildly dangerous.
“Imagine, you are an employee maintaining a substation,” Mr. Kudrytskyi said. “You know it is a target.”
An alarm sounds and workers seek shelter in a bunker. But even below ground, he said, workers can hear the roar of the explosion as the power of the missile or drone is compounded by the release of energy from the electrical equipment. A strange odor, which he compared to the smell of burned plastic, fills the air when the all clear is finally given.
Across the power plant, which he said can feel like its own small town, fires fueled by oil used in the machinery burn for hours. Alarms blare two or three times a day. And just as workers gather what is needed for repairs: boom, another explosion. Mr. Kudrytskyi said that at one plant, the building where the repair equipment was kept was hit.
“Everything gone,” he said. “It is really hard to imagine if you are not inside this horrible movie.”
Five utility workers have been killed in strikes and dozens more wounded. Mr. Kudrytskyi said he remained amazed at the dedication of crews working to keep the lights on.
Mr. Kudrytskyi saw the power of the Russian attack drones for himself. He was on the street outside the utility’s headquarters in central Kyiv when the building was struck by a drone two weeks ago.
“I was thinking they were very noisy and slow,” he said. “Unfortunately, they hit hard.”
Debris from the blast still litters the complex. Windows hundreds of yards from blast site are blown out.
That was one of dozens of aerial attacks on Oct. 10 that destroyed 30 percent of the nation’s power stations in one of the most sweeping assaults on civilian infrastructure of the war.
The strikes were the start of a sustained campaign that Russian officials have said is meant to cause civilian suffering and force Ukraine to submit to the Kremlin’s will.
Dmitri A. Medvedev, a former Russian president and prime minister and current deputy head of Russia’s Security Council, said in statement on Friday that Ukraine would regain energy stability only when it recognizes Russia’s demands as legitimate.
“And then the light will come on,” he wrote on Telegram.
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, speaking to the nation from the darkened streets of Kyiv late Thursday, was defiant in the face of Russian threats.
“We are not afraid of the dark,” he said. “The darkest times for us are not without light, but without freedom.”
Oct. 29, 2022
An earlier version of a picture caption with this article misstated the date on which technicians were carrying out repairs in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. It was two weeks ago, not last week.
KYIV, Ukraine — With rolling blackouts across Ukraine and four million people forced to restrict power usage, the head of the utility grid warned that Russia’s aerial assault on the nation’s energy infrastructure is limiting its ability to make repairs.
Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, the chief executive of Ukrenergo, said that the Russian targeting has been so precise that the Russian military is most likely being guided by energy experts.
“I cannot imagine that military experts would know what combination of things needs to be hit to cause the most damage,” he said in an interview on Friday.
The Russians have hit ultra-high-voltage lines that are the backbone of the grid; the substations for certain regions; the substations that move power from the power plants; and the power plants themselves.
And they have hit many critical sites more than once, Mr. Kudrytskyi said, making the job of the 5,500 electrical maintenance workers racing to repair the grid before the winter freeze wildly dangerous.
“Imagine, you are an employee maintaining a substation,” Mr. Kudrytskyi said. “You know it is a target.”
An alarm sounds and workers seek shelter in a bunker. But even below ground, he said, workers can hear the roar of the explosion as the power of the missile or drone is compounded by the release of energy from the electrical equipment. A strange odor, which he compared to the smell of burned plastic, fills the air when the all clear is finally given.
Across the power plant, which he said can feel like its own small town, fires fueled by oil used in the machinery burn for hours. Alarms blare two or three times a day. And just as workers gather what is needed for repairs: boom, another explosion. Mr. Kudrytskyi said that at one plant, the building where the repair equipment was kept was hit.
“Everything gone,” he said. “It is really hard to imagine if you are not inside this horrible movie.”
Five utility workers have been killed in strikes and dozens more wounded. Mr. Kudrytskyi said he remained amazed at the dedication of crews working to keep the lights on.
Mr. Kudrytskyi saw the power of the Russian attack drones for himself. He was on the street outside the utility’s headquarters in central Kyiv when the building was struck by a drone two weeks ago.
“I was thinking they were very noisy and slow,” he said. “Unfortunately, they hit hard.”
Debris from the blast still litters the complex. Windows hundreds of yards from blast site are blown out.
That was one of dozens of aerial attacks on Oct. 10 that destroyed 30 percent of the nation’s power stations in one of the most sweeping assaults on civilian infrastructure of the war.
The strikes were the start of a sustained campaign that Russian officials have said is meant to cause civilian suffering and force Ukraine to submit to the Kremlin’s will.
Dmitri A. Medvedev, a former Russian president and prime minister and current deputy head of Russia’s Security Council, said in statement on Friday that Ukraine would regain energy stability only when it recognizes Russia’s demands as legitimate.
“And then the light will come on,” he wrote on Telegram.
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, speaking to the nation from the darkened streets of Kyiv late Thursday, was defiant in the face of Russian threats.
“We are not afraid of the dark,” he said. “The darkest times for us are not without light, but without freedom.”
Oct. 29, 2022
An earlier version of a picture caption with this article misstated the date on which technicians were carrying out repairs in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. It was two weeks ago, not last week.
KYIV, Ukraine — With rolling blackouts across Ukraine and four million people forced to restrict power usage, the head of the utility grid warned that Russia’s aerial assault on the nation’s energy infrastructure is limiting its ability to make repairs.
Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, the chief executive of Ukrenergo, said that the Russian targeting has been so precise that the Russian military is most likely being guided by energy experts.
“I cannot imagine that military experts would know what combination of things needs to be hit to cause the most damage,” he said in an interview on Friday.
The Russians have hit ultra-high-voltage lines that are the backbone of the grid; the substations for certain regions; the substations that move power from the power plants; and the power plants themselves.
And they have hit many critical sites more than once, Mr. Kudrytskyi said, making the job of the 5,500 electrical maintenance workers racing to repair the grid before the winter freeze wildly dangerous.
“Imagine, you are an employee maintaining a substation,” Mr. Kudrytskyi said. “You know it is a target.”
An alarm sounds and workers seek shelter in a bunker. But even below ground, he said, workers can hear the roar of the explosion as the power of the missile or drone is compounded by the release of energy from the electrical equipment. A strange odor, which he compared to the smell of burned plastic, fills the air when the all clear is finally given.
Across the power plant, which he said can feel like its own small town, fires fueled by oil used in the machinery burn for hours. Alarms blare two or three times a day. And just as workers gather what is needed for repairs: boom, another explosion. Mr. Kudrytskyi said that at one plant, the building where the repair equipment was kept was hit.
“Everything gone,” he said. “It is really hard to imagine if you are not inside this horrible movie.”
Five utility workers have been killed in strikes and dozens more wounded. Mr. Kudrytskyi said he remained amazed at the dedication of crews working to keep the lights on.
Mr. Kudrytskyi saw the power of the Russian attack drones for himself. He was on the street outside the utility’s headquarters in central Kyiv when the building was struck by a drone two weeks ago.
“I was thinking they were very noisy and slow,” he said. “Unfortunately, they hit hard.”
Debris from the blast still litters the complex. Windows hundreds of yards from blast site are blown out.
That was one of dozens of aerial attacks on Oct. 10 that destroyed 30 percent of the nation’s power stations in one of the most sweeping assaults on civilian infrastructure of the war.
The strikes were the start of a sustained campaign that Russian officials have said is meant to cause civilian suffering and force Ukraine to submit to the Kremlin’s will.
Dmitri A. Medvedev, a former Russian president and prime minister and current deputy head of Russia’s Security Council, said in statement on Friday that Ukraine would regain energy stability only when it recognizes Russia’s demands as legitimate.
“And then the light will come on,” he wrote on Telegram.
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, speaking to the nation from the darkened streets of Kyiv late Thursday, was defiant in the face of Russian threats.
“We are not afraid of the dark,” he said. “The darkest times for us are not without light, but without freedom.”
Oct. 29, 2022
An earlier version of a picture caption with this article misstated the date on which technicians were carrying out repairs in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. It was two weeks ago, not last week.
