A production hall is seen destroyed through the roof after a recent Russian missile attack at DTEK's power plant in Ukraine, on Nov. 28.Evgeniy Maloletka/The Associated Press
Ukraine’s largest private power producer is predicting a winter of electricity outages after recent Russian attacks undid many of the repairs undertaken since the summer.
DTEK, which generates about one-quarter of Ukraine’s electricity, on Monday announced emergency power cuts in Kyiv and the Dnipro and Donetsk regions.
“No energy system in modern times has faced such an onslaught,” chief executive officer Maxim Timchenko said in an e-mail interview.
Maxim Timchenko, CEO of DTEK, sits in Kyiv, Ukraine on Feb. 3, 2023.Anton Skyba/The Globe and Mail
The latest attacks on Ukraine’s generation and transmission system seemed designed to plunge the country into cold darkness just in time for winter, when electricity is needed most for heating and lighting. Much of the country is already experiencing sub-zero temperatures.
DTEK’s infrastructure has been under sporadic, though intense, attack since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February, 2022. At first, the Russian cruise missiles and drones targeted the transmission grid only.
About a year later, Russian President Vladimir Putin changed tactics and went after the coal-burner power plants themselves. DTEK had eight plants before the war; two were seized by Russian forces, leaving six.
Between March and April of this year, massive raids on the surviving DTEK plants damaged or destroyed 90 per cent of the company’s generating capacity.
More than half of the lost capacity was restored after foreign funding and surplus parts from European power plants arrived. The company said that the European Commission supplied almost €63-million to rebuild the plants and to “winterize” them. Another US$46-million came from the United States.
Workers repair equipment at DTEK's power plant after a recent Russian missile attack in Ukraine on Nov. 28.Evgeniy Maloletka/The Associated Press
On Nov. 17, Russia resumed the attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure, including the system operated by the state-owned transmission network operator, Ukrenergo. Nearly 210 missiles and drones hit Ukraine, most of them directed at the energy sector.
The next assault was on Nov. 28, when 188 missiles and drones were used. A far bigger attack followed on Dec. 13.
The plants have Ukrainian military air-defence systems nearby, but their interceptor missiles could not prevent severe damage.
“Air defense is key to protecting Ukrainians from Russia’s energy terror,” DTEK said in a statement. “After every attack, we need months and tons of new equipment to restore everything. Then, a single missile can destroy everything we’ve worked on, costing time and resources.
“This is why Ukraine is still dependent on ammunition provided by our partners.”
Residents walk past a generator supplying a store with electricity during a power outage in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv on Dec. 13, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.YURIY DYACHYSHYN/AFP/Getty Images
Moscow called the Dec. 13 assault a retaliatory strike for Kyiv’s use of American-made weapons to hit an airfield in southern Russia. U.S. president-elect Donald Trump called the attack with the ATACMS missiles, which have a range of up to 300 kilometres, a “foolish” idea.
The Kremlin praised Mr. Trump’s view: “The statement fully aligns with our position, with our view on the reasons for escalation,” spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters. “That impresses us. It is obvious that Trump understands exactly what is escalating the situation.”
Before the three attacks since November, Ukraine had lost nine gigawatts of generation capacity, including hydro power. That was equivalent to the combined peak electricity consumption of Slovakia, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.
DTEK is, once again, busy repairing its plants to get Ukrainians and the country’s military bases through the winter: “Thanks to the solidarity of international partners in delivering aid, we are standing strong against Russia’s energy terror,” Mr. Timchenko said.
The company called the scale of the destruction in 2024 “unprecedented” and said that the “recovery will continue throughout the heating season and in the coming years,” implying that more blackouts could not be avoided over the winter.
Some Kyiv residents and businesses are turning to alternative energy sources to get through what could prove Ukraine’s most difficult winter since the start of Russia’s invasion.
Reuters
DTEK’s power plants were not the only casualties. The company said four employees were killed and 75 were wounded while on the job during Russian attacks.
Almost 5,400 of DTEK’s 55,000 employees have joined the Ukrainian Armed Forces since the Russian invasion, of whom about 330 have been killed in military operations. More than 1,000 have been injured, 13 are in captivity and 79 are missing, the company said.
DTEK is owned by Rinat Akhmetov, one of Ukraine’s richest men. He also owns the Metinvest metals group. Two of his biggest steel plants were destroyed in the horrific battle for Mariupol, in the southeast corner of Ukraine, which was overrun by Russian forces in May, 2022.