As Russia hits energy grid, Ukraine tries to avoid a cold, dark winter
| Dobropillia, Ukraine
There are few signs of life in the southeast Ukrainian town of Dobropillia, where recent Russian bombardments have left a ruin of residential apartment blocks that are patrolled constantly by Russian combat drones.
Yet one unexpected sign of hope is the distinct hum of a large transformer housed in a small, intact brick building.
Vitalii, a regional director of Ukraine鈥檚 electrical grid who declined to offer his full name, allows a smile to spread across his face at the sound. Then he points to the fifth-floor window of a damaged building, where a light is visible.
Why We Wrote This
Ukraine is facing a third winter at war, and Russia is targeting energy infrastructure like never before 鈥� an apparent bid to weaken morale. But war has taught the Ukrainians how to keep the lights on under almost any circumstance.
鈥淚t鈥檚 working!鈥� says Vitalii in mock surprise, noting that the transformer has been down 鈥�50 times鈥� in the last two months. 鈥淣o people. But there is electricity!鈥�
Vitalii, whose official title is the Pokrovsk regional chief for DTEK Donetsk Grids, leads daily repair teams in these front-line areas, where electrical cables, transformers, and the power grid are damaged by a dramatic surge in Russian attacks.
With Russia advancing slowly along this portion of the front, one of the repairman鈥檚 most prized tools is a drone detector. It scans and intercepts Russian drone video signals, and then displays the drone鈥檚-eye view on Vitalii鈥檚 screen 鈥� so he can see if his crew is in the direct line of fire and must escape.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 linger,鈥� says Vitalii, as he monitors the hand-held device. 鈥淲e do our work and go.鈥�
An attack on morale
As Ukraine faces a third winter at war, Russia is targeting Ukraine鈥檚 energy infrastructure like never before. It鈥檚 an apparent bid to weaken Ukrainian morale by making this winter as dark and cold as possible.
But the years of war have taught Ukraine how to keep the lights on under almost any circumstance 鈥� and how to better missile- and drone-proof vulnerable facilities and electrical grids.
This is the front line where Russia aims to create an 鈥渆nergy disaster,鈥� Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told NBC News on Sunday, after a reportedly tense meeting Friday with President Donald Trump at the White House.
In Washington, Mr. Zelenskyy failed to secure a promise of American Tomahawk cruise missiles from Mr. Trump 鈥撀爓hich Ukraine seeks for its own retaliatory deep-strike attacks inside Russia.
Last week alone, Russia launched more than 3,270 attack drones, 1,370 guided aerial bombs, and nearly 50 missiles against Ukraine, according to Mr. Zelenskyy.
With him in Washington were Ukrainian energy officials looking for support to protect and diversify Ukraine鈥檚 energy systems.
鈥淲e see how, as the temperature outside drops, Russia鈥檚 attacks on our energy infrastructure are intensifying,鈥� Ukraine鈥檚 Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk said Oct. 9. 鈥淭he enemy has not changed its intentions to completely destroy our energy system and plunge Ukrainian cities into total darkness. And to this end, it is constantly employing new tactics.鈥�
Grim statistics
The day after Ms. Hrynchuk spoke, Russia launched 450 drones and 30 missiles, causing blackouts across nine regions, including the capital, Kyiv. Before dawn last Thursday, another Russian drone and missile barrage knocked out gas supplies in the Poltava region 鈥� the sixth set of strikes on gas infrastructure this month alone.
DTEK, which is Ukraine鈥檚 largest private energy company,聽said last week it had restored electricity to 1.9 million Ukrainian families. Yet on Sunday, Russia targeted a DTEK coal mine in the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region 鈥� the fourth such strike against DTEK coal facilities there and in the Donetsk region.
The vital statistics appear grim: Russia has damaged 90% of Ukraine鈥檚 thermal power plants belonging to DTEK since the February 2022 invasion. By May 2024, Russian strikes had damaged or destroyed half of Ukraine鈥檚 generation capacity.
This year, some 50% of Ukraine鈥檚 gas infrastructure and storage capacity has been destroyed since March. By one count, Russia launched 2,900 attacks on Ukraine鈥檚 energy infrastructure alone between March and August 2025.
鈥淭he main targets for Russia are Soviet-designed thermal power plants, which are highly complex and difficult to restore quickly,鈥� says a DTEK official in Kyiv who asked not to be named. 鈥淩ussia also targets substations that connect Ukraine鈥檚 nuclear power plants to the grid.鈥�
But Ukraine is also finding ways to diversify and improve. It has built the biggest wind farm in Eastern Europe near Mykolaiv. And in recent months, DTEK has worked with the American company Fluence Energy to install six battery storage facilities.
With a capacity of 200 megawatts, the battery units can power the equivalent of 600,000 Ukrainian homes, or around half the households in Kyiv, for two hours.
鈥淚n the rest of the world, batteries have become an important component in the energy system to store electricity generated by renewables for use later in the day,鈥� says the DTEK official. 鈥淚n Ukraine鈥檚 case, their role is to help instantly balance the grid if, for example, it comes under attack.鈥�
Ironically, 鈥渨ar has accelerated Ukraine鈥檚 energy transition,鈥� he notes, as the country moves swiftly to reduce its reliance on large and more vulnerable power-generation assets.
Keys to the coming winter
Ukraine鈥檚 ability to withstand another winter under attack will nevertheless depend on three variables, says Mariia Tsaturian, an energy systems expert with the Ukraine Facility Platform think tank in Kyiv.
The first variable is Russian President Vladimir Putin and the scale of Russian attacks. The second is the severity of the winter 鈥� the last two have been mild. And the third variable is the Ukrainian government鈥檚 plan for power storage, diversification, and facility protection, using everything from drone interceptors to concrete shelters.
鈥淭he strategic goal of Russia is always the same, to black out the country. But they have been changing tactics,鈥� says Ms. Tsaturian.
Striking gas infrastructure is the latest Russian tactic that is especially troublesome, she says.
鈥淕as keeps people warm, and we use gas for energy production in thermal power plants, and it鈥檚 a resource for industry,鈥� says Ms. Tsaturian.
Hopes that Ukraine could pass the winter without blackouts appear slim, amid stepped-up combined strikes against gas facilities and transmission substations. Russia鈥檚 effort to black out the system, she says, could next move to power plants in western Ukraine.
The DTEK battery project is an 鈥渙ptimal鈥� choice to fill the gap, since batteries today are one-tenth the cost of a decade ago. Back then, Ms. Tsaturian worked for the Ukrainian transmission system operator NPC Ukrenergo, which examined battery options at the time. Still, she says the current 200 MW capacity from batteries remains a 鈥渄rop in the ocean,鈥� with 10 times that amount needed.
At the front
That larger vision factors little to those Ukrainians on the front line of the energy battle with Russia, who daily pick their way through the detritus of war to fix broken cables and keep the lights on.
鈥淲e are in the actual combat zone, so there is a lot of work,鈥� says DTEK regional chief Vitalii, noting that Russian forces often target the electricity grid in areas where they are ready to advance.
鈥淓very time it is different,鈥� he says of his team鈥檚 frequent callouts after Russian bombardments. 鈥淭here is rubble, people are dead, cars are on fire 鈥� and you try to find the cables.鈥�
Driving with his DTEK repair team near Dobropillia 鈥� often along roads covered with netting to prevent Russian drone attacks 鈥� Vitalii points out a concrete column beside the road. On it are the faded words of the ubiquitous Soviet-era slogan 鈥淧eace to the World.鈥�
There is no one here, only wreckage left over from Russian strikes.
鈥淓very time I pass this thing, I laugh,鈥� he says. 鈥淭his slogan was everywhere, but look at this place.鈥�
Oleksandr Naselenko supported reporting for this story.
