Ukraine races to repair power plants wrecked by Russian missiles before winter

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Nov 13 - Oleksiy, a technician at a Ukrainian power plant, has lost count of how many times he has had to repair the facility after Russian attacks. But the latest strike was the…

Nov 13 - Oleksiy, a technician at a Ukrainian power plant, has lost count of how many times he has had to repair the facility after Russian attacks. But the latest strike was the most devastating, he says, and could leave an entire region without heat and electricity this winter.

Early one morning this month, Russian missiles slammed into the plant — owned by Ukraine's largest private energy company, DTEK — tearing apart its roof and walls. Turbines and boilers were buried under tons of debris that hundreds of workers must clear by hand.

Reuters visited the ruined plant but DTEK asked not to disclose its location for security reasons.

"Right now, everyone has shovels and wheelbarrows as we try to reach the equipment," said Oleksiy, who asked to be identified only by his given name. "The main thing is to get to it, assess its condition and only then make plans for repairs and restoration."

Russia resumed large-scale attacks on energy infrastructure in mid-autumn, seeking to weaponise Ukraine's harsh winters by leaving millions without heat and electricity, as it has sought to do every year since its full-scale invasion in 2022. Moscow denies deliberately targeting civilians.

But this year, Ukraine has struggled to protect its power plants after the US cut deliveries of Patriot interceptors — the only weapon in Kyiv's arsenal capable of stopping Russian ballistic missiles — amid a global shortage.

Ukraine's defences have also been stretched by Russia's deployment of new jet-powered attack drones, which are more difficult to down because of their speed.

Last winter, the coldest of the war, DTEK's five plants came under heavy attack 11 times. But already this November, the first month of the current heating season, Russia has attacked three of DTEK's plants with dozens of missiles and drones, forcing the stations to halt electricity generation.

"They (the Russians) seem obsessed with leaving us without electricity and heating, and they stick to that goal," said Oleksiy.

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