Ukraine's electrical grid has been under assault from Russian airstrikes for two months. Repair workers are racing to fix damaged power stations, even as the country braces for more attacks.
"It's getting hard to find equipment, especially those that deal with high voltage lines," he says.
Yurii Herasko, a manager with DTEK, Ukraine's largest private energy company, near a worksite in the Teremky neighborhood of Kyiv on Wednesday.Yurii Herasko, a manager with DTEK, Ukraine's largest private energy company, near a worksite in the Teremky neighborhood of Kyiv on Wednesday.As a large country with an expansive power grid, Ukraine transmits electricity from power stations at up to 750,000 volts.
The Russians have targeted and destroyed many of these high-voltage transformers, and Ukraine acknowledges it's struggling to find replacements. In normal times, this can take months because the transformers have to be made to Ukraine's specifications. European networks, for example, tend to use transformers that handle a maximum of 400,000 volts, and therefore aren't suitable for Ukraine.
Herasko, like most Ukrainians, endures multiple power cuts at his own home that often add up to 12 hours a day.Greg Myre is an NPR national security correspondent. Follow him
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