海角大神

Ukrainian welder Serhii Krasnokutskyi smiles as he points out the hooks already screwed into the frame of a southeast-facing window in his sixth-floor apartment.

That is where his small fold-up solar panel will hang 鈥� to absorb the most sunlight 鈥� if Russia鈥檚 sustained bombardment of Ukraine鈥檚 electricity infrastructure catches up with him.

But he and his mother, Antonina Krasnokutska, have been lucky: Their residential building in the eastern Ukrainian town of Balakliia sits along an electrical line deemed to be of critical importance.

So even as most Ukrainians have been experiencing rolling blackouts 鈥� due to systematic Russian missile and drone attacks that have destroyed some 50% of Ukraine鈥檚 power-generating capacity 鈥� the mother and son have only recently started to lose power, too.

鈥淚 think the situation will only get worse; Russia has a lot of missiles,鈥� says Mr. Krasnokutskyi. 鈥淓verything is related to electricity. 鈥� Even the air-raid sirens don鈥檛 work without it.鈥�

Indeed, for Ukraine, keeping the lights on is a key war aim. And the accruing damage to Ukraine鈥檚 grid and the challenge it is presenting to the country is having political reverberations in President Volodymyr Zelenskyy鈥檚 government.

The head of Ukraine鈥檚 state electricity company Ukrenergo, Volodymyr Kudrytsky, was fired Monday, ostensibly for failing to ensure the sufficient defense of key installations 鈥� though media reports suggested political moves, even as a broad Cabinet shake-up got underway.

Many of Russia鈥檚 most recent waves of missile and drone attacks 鈥� conducted in apparent retaliation for Ukraine鈥檚 month-old incursion into Russia鈥檚 Kursk region 鈥撀爃ave focused on degrading Ukraine鈥檚 energy and civilian infrastructure.

A barrage of 100 missiles and 100 drones August 26, for example, 颅which targeted electricity distribution substations across the country, required the imposition of emergency power outages 鈥渢o protect the system,鈥� said Maxim Timchenko, head of DTEK Group, the largest private investor in Ukraine鈥檚 energy sector.

鈥淯kraine鈥檚 Armed forces are actively engaged in defending DTEK power stations from incoming missiles,鈥� he posted on the social platform X. Ukrainian officials have pleaded with Western allies for more air defense systems to minimize the impact of such attacks.

In June, President Zelenskyy said Russia鈥檚 spring targeting of Ukraine鈥檚 mammoth power stations and transmission capacity had already destroyed half the country鈥檚 power generation capacity 鈥� a strategic rate of destruction that continues to far outstrip Ukraine鈥檚 ability to make repairs.

A spring report by the Kyiv School of Economics estimated that Russia had destroyed more than $16 billion worth of energy infrastructure, including two key thermal power plants, and 鈥渃ritical damage of over 80%鈥� to half a dozen others. The report put the cost to 鈥渂uild back better鈥� at $50 billion.

鈥淚t鈥檚 just fear, sowing fear. 鈥� The [Russian] goal is to make life as difficult as possible,鈥� says Oleksii Vishniakov, chief of the Balakliia Department of District Energy Networks.

鈥淚 consider it some kind of front line here,鈥� says the no-nonsense, graying veteran of the electrical grid. 鈥淭hose who work here overcome their discomfort, because they understand it is important to keep working, to keep the electricity on.鈥�

Mr. Vishniakov and his team are racing to repair damaged electricity infrastructure across this district 鈥� when they have access to its 900 kilometers (560 miles) of high-voltage lines. The ground of some 530 kilometers聽of the lines was mined by invading Russian forces before they retreated in 2022, he says, and demining teams continue to work 鈥� and take casualties.

So far his team has replaced more than 325 electricity poles with new ones provided by the U.S. Agency for International Development 鈥� the new pole digger also comes from USAID 鈥� and deployed 160 U.S.-given electrical transmission units and miles of high-voltage cable.

Yet the schedule for electricity 鈥渄epends on what in Moscow and the Kremlin they decide to hit today,鈥� says Mr. Vishniakov. 鈥淎s soon as they target something important again, that鈥檚 it, we have no electricity and cannot put together a predictable schedule. 鈥� Now we are living with the understanding that the situation can change at any moment.鈥�

While Balakliia electricity is usually off just four hours a day, other areas in Ukraine can have as little as one hour a day.

The situation first changed here when invading Russian troops camped in Mr. Vishniakov鈥檚 district offices during their six-month occupation in 2022. They left the control room with its intricate, lit-up grid map destroyed, and the rooms wrecked. 鈥淚 was crying,鈥� the network chief recalls as he walks through the wreckage of his former office.

More recently, the vast Zmiivska thermal power station down the road was struck on March 22 with 18 missiles, knocking out power to the region.

鈥淲hat I am doing with my crew, we need to prove that we are worthy of those people who are fighting on the front line, because they are fighting for each meter of our land,鈥� Mr. Vishniakov says.

That front line is moving daily as Russia continues to make incremental advances along Ukraine鈥檚 eastern front 鈥� with a particular push now toward the city of Pokrovsk. Longer-range attacks with missiles and drones pose dangers to citizens and electrical grids alike.

鈥淚f you are between the zero line and 10 kilometers from the front, you must act like you are facing the Russians 鈥撀爏omething can come anytime,鈥� says Colonel Yuri Povkh, military spokesperson for the Kharkiv region.

Balakliia may be 40 miles from the front line, but like a survivalist in his apartment, Mr. Krasnokutskyi is prepared. He has a number of battery power banks, surge protectors, and even a small generator hidden on his balcony.

When the Monitor first met this mother-and-son pair in September 2022, their electricity had just been restored after six months of Russian occupation.

鈥淓lectricity is civilization 鈥� it is everything,鈥� Ms. Krasnokutska said back then, as they both marveled at the bulb hanging in their kitchen, which had lit up again for the first time just the day before.

The family got through that winter and the next, but now they echo Ukrainian officials in their worry about the strategic impact of Russia鈥檚 current campaign, as another ice-cold winter looms. Like many other Ukrainians, Mr. Krasnokutskyi is these days well-versed in the kilowatt requirements of home appliances 鈥� and how much he can provide with his 2.8 kilowatt generator.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a very common problem,鈥� he says. 鈥淓veryone is an electrician now.鈥�

Also doing similar math, but on a much larger scale, are Oleksii Yevsiukov and Viktoriia Varenikova, a husband-wife team who created and run the Avex company in Kharkiv, which produces swimming and fitness wear, and is now completely energy self-sufficient.

With a high-tech mix of solar and thermal power 鈥� and with the collected energy stored in a custom-fitted Tesla car battery the size of a closet 鈥撀爐he company is providing a model for avoiding city blackouts and brownouts. The battery can hold two days鈥� worth of power if the solar panels do not produce enough.

Their plan to go green predates the Russian invasion. But the war 鈥� and its attendant energy uncertainty 鈥撀爓as the catalyst to invest in the solar panels that line the workshop roof, and the piping of the geothermal unit in the basement that taps 70 yards deep into the earth to regulate temperature.

The factory worked for half a year with a diesel generator, but it was noisy, and required fuel and an engineer to keep it running. Fourteen staff now work here, producing some 2,000 high-end items for Ukrainian brands amid piles of material and walls covered with spools of thread in every color.

鈥淲e did one year of research before the war, then decided to do it,鈥� says Mr. Yevsiukov, who uses excess power created by the solar panels to charge his electric car. 鈥淚t is good for us, good for the nation, and for everyone.鈥�

Oleksandr Naselenko supported reporting for this story.