OUPDocumentary

00:03

The film was created at the height of the war that the Russian Federation is waging against Ukraine. Therefore, taking into account the safety of the film’s characters and energy infrastructure facilities, some individual shots were edited.

This was done in order to avoid the use of film materials for planning missile attacks by the aggressor.

Music

00:15

Everyone understands that they are shooting at us.

01:11

VITALIY ZAYCHENKO

chief dispatcher of the United Energy System of Ukraine

Everyone understands who is the number one target during this period.

01:18

These are military facilities, in fact, civilian facilities, such as power stations and substations.

We understand exactly that it'll fly there.

01:28

CHRISTMAS

01:54

BLACKOUT

01:57

Music

02:01

Who will help mom make gingerbread?

02:38

We! Mom, wait!

02:39

Mom starts making the dough. Don't forget to wash your hands! Let's hope that everything will work out for us.

02:41

OLENA TOKARIUK

mother of many children, Odesa

I am a mother of many children. I have 5 wonderful children. I never thought that I would be

a mother of many children. I never thought, but it happened. I don't regret anything.

I am very happy that I have such 5 wonderful children. Each of them is special. Each of them is not like the others. They are all different. I worry, and I worry about everyone in my own way.

02:49

Who will cut first? - I am.

03:17

Carefully. We hold the dough. Here we have soda. And soda gives rise to the dough.

03:24

Our house is fully electric. We also cook food, and we are very dependent on electricity. During the whole November, we only had heating for two days. It was cold in November.

There were periods when it was cold. Light was given, sometimes, for an hour and a half and then another hour and a half. Three hours per day. This time is not enough for the boiler room to heat up the water. And so it turned out that the lack of hot water, first of all, gave the apartment a lot of dampness. You can't dry clothes, you take them into the house, and inside our house, just like that, droplets hung on the windows. Water was just like in a cave.

03:34

Our 110 kV line is disconnected, grounded on both sides. Posters and signs are installed.

Our workplace is prepared: grounding 10/23 is installed on support 38. Our task is to restore the electricity supply. We have defective insulation and a damaged wire. Your task is to replace the defective insulation, install safety systems, crossing the road and remove the damaged wire. Did you get it?

04:32

Got it.

05:04

Music

05:07

STANISLAV BOHUNOV

«UKRENERGO» electrician

We are now on the line. It is 110,000 kV. We will restore the electricity supply that was damaged after the recent shelling. A missile landed nearby and debris damaged the power supply line.

05:27

After each shelling, we have to fix something.

As often as they shoot, so often we have to fix.

05:51

It was difficult. There were periods

when we were without electricity for four days.

We bought a stove for cooking.

This is a tile that our grandmothers used.

We had gas cylinders in a house outside the city.

We performed diagnostics of the cylinders.

That everything was fine there.

The hose was diagnosed.

The cylinder was filled and placed at home.

06:01

This happened when more than a hundred missiles

were fired in the direction of Ukraine.

A lot of equipment was damaged.

There were a lot of hits to the energy structure.

06:24

Music

06:41

DANGER OF MINES!

06:51

We have everything ready.

06:54

There is an air alert now. - In Odessa?

07:01

All over Ukraine.

07:04

There is an air alert now.

We should find a shelter where we can hide.

If we do it in the field,

we don't have the opportunity

to go to the storage every time.

We are trying to find a place that has a cover.

We get out of the car, go to this place

and wait for the alarm to end.

07:11

Music

07:43

ROMAN KALICH

head of the operation department of the «UKRENERGO» substation

Three missiles flew here on December 5.

08:01

There were huge pits.

There were no windows or doors anywhere.

Frightened people, of course.

The first thought - I hope that people are alive and unhurt.

08:05

VOLODYMYR LYKHOVITER

acting head of the «UKRENERGO» substation

This is, of course, not only after the first,

but also after the second and third cases.

When you go here, to the substation,

the first thing you worry

about is that the staff is alive, safe and sound.

08:14

SUBSTATION 330 Kv

IN ODESA REGION

08:26

YULIYA SYCH

«UKRENERGO» SUBSTATION electrician

There was a dull sound.

And we got a little bit shaken in the bomb shelter.

We were frightened, of course,

maybe for 3-4 seconds, then it went away.

We already knew that the missile had landed somewhere.

We have already begun to guess: "where?"

I said that it was probably somewhere around here,

where the transformers are.

We went out to take a look. We saw a huge flame.

08:32

ROMAN KALICH

head of operation department of the «UKRENERGO» substation

It was burning. Everything was up in smoke.

The staff of the substation had to carry out

restoration work.

Right in this smoke, in masks, respirators.

It was necessary to do it, no matter what,

to supply the city of Odesa

and the Odesa region with electricity.

09:02

The blackout has begun.

Until the evening there were alarm signals.

The next day, we left to restore damaged power lines.

They were burning-burning-burning...

Everything was burning around.

12 hours have already passed,

and firefighters have not been able to extinguish

the flames during this time.

09:25

Store owners allowed people to charge,

and people were already coming,

not only thinking about their own phone,

but they were all coming with extension cords.

And this extension cord was for ten sockets.

Some grandma came, stood nearby

and she brought an extension cord for ten sockets.

Everyone was charging. Everyone talked.

But nobody said something like:

"It was better to do nothing,

it was necessary to give up,

because we are having a blackout. That's the end..."

09:58

We bought power banks, lamps that can work

for 30 hours without charging.

Plus, this lamp can serve as a power bank.

We also discovered such a beautiful thing

as a garland. Here it is.

We bought a candle, thank God.

We watched on Youtube how to make these paraffin things.

We will not die.

I still remember how my grandmother

once told me how to make an oil lamp:

vegetable oil and a piece of cloth -

and there is a lamp. Not a problem at all.

And what about preparing food...

Lord... we have such neighbors...

they went out into the yard and cooked.

10:32

Blue? - Blue.

Ruslan, you are a genius.

He knows his worth. Yes son?

I won.

You didn't win, you won.

11:09

I don't even know what could happen

to make my hands go down.

In general, a person who is responsible only

for himself can probably give up.

But a child is looking at you

and the child must understand that everything is okay.

11:27

STANISLAV BOHUNOV

«UKRENERGO» electrician

She says: "Dad, why is there no light? -

she says, - You are working.

Turn on the light."

I answer her that not everything depends on us.

We try, we do everything for this, and she says:

"I can't learn a poem with candlelight."

Four and a half years. Her name is Polina.

She witnessed the arrival of missiles.

At that time, they were walking in the park

when the rockets were flying.

They found a hole in the ground and fell into it.

They waited until the shelling ended.

After these shellings, she is very afraid

when the lights are turned off.

She begins to panic, she screams and cries

until we light a candle or a flashlight.

That's why we always try to have backup lighting.

11:49

My son says to me: "Mom, why are you working there?

Go away, it's scary".

How will I leave? I have been working here for so many years.

I like. I like my job.

12:51

SUBSTATION

330 Kv

IN KHARKIV REGION

13:18

IRYNA BYELIK

«UKRENERGO» SUBSTATION dispatcher

This is the main control building.

Fuses are brought out there, all connections.

I have been working here for 32 years.

32? - Yes, 32 years.

That is, 32 years in this building?

Yes, in this building. Bombed out.

Now it hurts to look at this building.

Every day I went through that door, every shift.

I climbed the stairs.

On the second floor we had the main control room.

This is the entrance to the main control room.

What is left there now? Is this your workplace?

Yes, this is my workplace.

It's just awful.

It was September 11th.

Direct hit on the main control room.

Two people who were on duty died.

And at what time?

At 20:01 as it was fixed.

And where were you at that time?

I have been on a paid vacation since that day.

13:42

Footage of the war chronicle

Music

15:08

SERHIY ZAYETS

«UKRENERGO» SUBSTATION electrical fitter

The first hits were on the transformer,

which is now burnt.

And also in the main control panel,

it is also broken. The heart of the substation,

from where everything was controlled.

Many fire trucks, people running,

firefighters, emergency services.

Everything is burning, in smoke.

The transformer was still burning.

This one and that one. It was extinguished.

Everything was broken and lying around:

pieces and a lot of things.

I had tears in my eyes when I saw the panel

and all those things. Such a feeling...

I don't know how to describe it.

Back then three missiles arrived, as I asked, X 101.

In one attack, they damaged about 70-80%

of the substation. Many regions went out:

Kharkiv, Poltava, Sumy, Dnipro.

15:22

OLEKSIY BREKHT

member of the board of «UKRENERGO» (responsible for the network operation)

Why was this substation chosen?

Because, in fact, through it,

power flows were ensured to consumers

of the city of Kharkiv, the region

and after that to consumers of the Donetsk region.

16:23

The heart of the city.

We supply this city.

We supply electricity at the second smaller substation.

Electricity of various magnitudes comes from us.

Comes and goes.

This autotransformer was designed for 330/110/6 kV.

It is no longer there.

16:40

The substation is very serious. Consumed 6 kV.

Metropolitan, urban electrical networks

were powered from us.

17:05

VADYM HORBUNOV

master of the «UKRENERGO» substation

My friend died here, Sasha.

He was closer to the stairwell.

He was simply thrown behind the control panel,

that's all ...

17:25

Sasha was immediately found, burned.

They searched for Svetlana Nikolaevna for a long time.

Found remains. She worked here for 32 years too,

she came to work in 1990.

She came at the beginning of the year,

me at the end of 1990, we were young girls.

On the 13th, my son and I arrived

because I could not be at home.

I thought it would be easier if I take a look at all.

It doesn't matter... what they said...

when I saw it all with my own eyes,

it was very painful to look at it all.

It's just, you know, we gave half our lives

to this job, it is like the second home.

17:36

We rebuild, and they destroy back.

And I don't even know how to tell you...

Our work, one might say, is not visible.

Because we do, and they blow it up.

We do, they blow it up again.

Because the distance is very short,

and they constantly shell us with various missiles.

18:36

It takes 40 seconds for a rocket to come flying from Belhorod.

It's the estimated time.

If there's no air alert, no one knows about it.

When there's an air alert,

the personnel must leave the substation.

But 40 seconds is not enough to leave the lot.

And if some work is being done,

moreover, up there, using a tower,

it's not realistic.

18:57

Music

19:28

We know that it's a frontline city.

We know that our evil neighbor if very close.

19:39

It's our home, our beloved city. We didn't want to leave.

19:49

It's her first New Year.

If we didn't observe traditions, there's nothing left for us.

19:55

Footage of the war chronicle

Music

20:13

Control buttons on the side.

20:22

We are now at the depth of 480 meters.

20:29

PAVLOGRAD

DTEK ENERGO MINE Dnipropetrovsk region

20:35

HORIZON 480

Here is the horizon.

20:38

Come here and check in.

This is a strip that you cannot go beyond.

This is a mark. People are standing here.

Stem underground opens the door

and gives the command "pass through"

and we get inside.

Now we check in, we all go through.

20:43

YEVHEN VORONICH

division foreman at the mine of DTEK Energy

I am Voronich Evgeniy Grigorievich.

I'm 33, I was born in 1989.

I came to this mine for the first time

and I still work there.

I am already here for 16 years.

20:58

We're going down to five hundred.

Here is the bunker.

Coal is moving along the tapes.

It descends along the bunker,

under us there is another tape.

The tape is transported to the trunk.

Coal is poured into skips,

it's where we climbed, only they are larger.

And these skips deliver coal to the surface,

which is loaded into railway cars

and directly transported to the thermal

power plant for electricity..

21:17

DANGEROUS AREA

21:49

OLEKSIY BREKHT

member of the board of «UKRENERGO» (responsible for the network operation)

Pavlograd the second source of power for the Donetsk region.

Pavlograd is a huge, so called,

hub that ensures the production

of Ukrainian coal and the operation

of thermal power plants, i.e.,

the task here was "two in one":

to actually stop to a certain extent the possibility

of providing ourselves with a sufficient volume

of generation and to extremely complicate

the defense ability of our country

in relation to provision of those

units that were on the front line, protecting our lands.

21:52

Millions of people are without heat and light.

But many people still have a question -

Has the blackout that we were all

so afraid of already happened?

22:32

Footage of the war chronicle

Music

22:47

Being underground, we don't know about the alerts up there.

We can find out by missile landings only when the lockdown.

When it is completely de-energized,

we go out, we already know about the shelling

of energy supply, TPPs,

there is no electricity in Ukraine.

It happened on November 23rd.

We got up, got into the carriages,

went to the trunk. But, when moving to the trunk,

we have cells that are responsible

for the distribution of stress on the sections.

This, you see, is already a habit

to look at the cells. If the cells are working,

then there is voltage in the area.

We drove past, the cells were extinguished,

they did not glow.

There are windows that definitely show

what happened. Well, immediately you have thoughts...

The guys and I think that most likely missiles

hit somewhere, tension has disappeared

in Ukraine on a large scale.

22:59

This is scary. It's really scary.

And, it turns out, there is no ventilation supply

in the area due to the bends of drifts.

We turned onto the drift and that's it,

but there is no ventilation here.

Within 20 minutes, even if there

is no connection, we must move to a fresh stream.

We have never been in such a situation.

And we all were worried by the fact

when we will get out of here,

when they will pick us up, maybe a day,

maybe two, maybe three...

24:09

As a result of the shelling, 364 miners were stuck underground.

Half a thousand miners are now stuck.

24:46

ANTONINA VORONYCH

Yevhen’s wife

We thought that for so long it was just us.

We went there to the entrance to have a look.

The lights went out everywhere.

Then they began to write that the light

had disappeared all around.

We were very worried when they would be brought

to the surface. As a miner's wife,

I understand that people are locked up

and blocked underground.

This is a very serious situation.

I am very scared.

I'm always scared when he goes to the mine.

When he leaves, I always pray

and I am very happy when he comes back.

24:55

The dispatcher said: "Move out along the emergency

exits to the trunk."

There is a ladder exit along the old trunk to the surface.

We got there, this is a length of 10-12 kilometers,

this is to go to the block.

Before moving to the block,

we went to the first-aid post,

there is an underground nurse.

She had, in the first-aid post,

I don’t know the exact amount of water,

there were forty flasks, about five liters each.

Each department took two flasks.

Here you are carrying a flask from such a site,

you are also carrying a flask from this site.

Of course, this is ten kilometers to carry.

People changed. We agreed on this.

No one turned away from anyone

because the water is really needed in the mine.

25:30

I started calling his friend who was on vacation.

He went to the walk-through.

There they told him that the evacuation of people

had been resumed. Somewhere around 11:00 p.m.,

he had already come home and there was still no light.

At that time, we already felt relief

that he came back, thank God.

We cooked everything on gas, we have gas,

thank God, we could finish cooking dinner.

We had dinner and went to bed with a calm soul.

26:26

And rise at 4 in the morning.

I'm going to go at 4:30, and the guys call from work:

"What, let's go?", and I'm like: "Sure, let's go!".

27:03

This is a conveyor belt, through which coal

flows around the clock, except for the first shift.

The first shift does what will provide a day

for coal mining..

27:13

Will you do everything to make this

end as soon as possible?

27:22

We will do everything so that this belt

does not stop, so that the coal

does not stop flowing along the belt.

27:22

We will have Christmas.

My daughters are waiting for Christmas and New Year,

and gifts under the Christmas tree, and Santa Claus.

I put up a Christmas tree for them, garlands.

Smart girl.

Most of all I want the war to end

and we all live happily ever after.

I will hug my children, my wife,

look out the window and say: "Thank God that we won".

27:35

And will you go to work?

28:11

OLEKSIY BREKHT

member of the board of «UKRENERGO» (responsible for the network operation)

Unfortunately, we have already been taught

that holidays are dates used by our enemies

in order to spread some kind of panic, danger,

and significantly worsen the mood

and well-being of Ukrainians.

Therefore, we are definitely preparing for it.

We actually expect this every day.

28:23

VITALIY ZAYCHENKO

chief dispatcher of the United Energy System of Ukraine

First, they tried to damage 750 kV -

the main backbone of our energy system,

then the 330 kV substation,

then they hit all the substations

and hydroelectric stations

around the nuclear power plants.

Now they have moved on to simply destroying

our generating capacity at thermal power stations.

There was not a single case when the people

left that object and did not return to it.

Everyone comes, they see that a rocket has arrived,

destroyed two huge units, or broke them in half.

They come, restore, do their work

and continue to work...

to spite those damn Muscovites.

28:47

LVIV

Saint Nicholas Hospital

29:38

Hello. What's your name?

Olesia.

Olesia? God, what a beautiful name!

I am Andrii. Hello, Cossack.

By the way, my catheter has already been removed.

Show me. And where was it?

What happened to you?

Why was the catheter inserted? For what?

Because I was sick.

WAS sick. How well said.

Was sick, not sick anymore.

30:07

ANDRIY DVORAKEVYCH

surgeon

We felt that there would be changes.

We felt it once, when the heart surgeons

were performing an operation in the operating room

and the lights went out.

Even here, from the window,

we saw twice how missiles hit the substation.

We could see the flames from the windows.

30:28

SUBSTATION

330 Kv

IN LVIV REGION

30:44

We were standing from a distance and heard the sounds.

I had never heard of it,

but I knew right away that it was a missile.

Why? - I don't know, the brain said so...

that it's a missile.

The whistle is specific, which is not easily forgotten.

The first three missiles were in seconds.

30:55

VLADYSLAV MNYKH

5^th grade electrical fitter of «UKRENERGO»

I am 19 years old.

I actually came here a month before the war.

I had no idea that this could happen.

To be honest, I didn't even have an idea

about substations, because I had just arrived.

The war began. I did not fully

believe that something could fly here.

So, to be honest, until the 10th,

we neglected safety measures.

Yes, it could be, but I didn't believe

until the very end, until I heard that terrible whistle.

Already after the first arrival of the missile,

we thought that this won't happen again...

and then again, and again...

Everything was getting worse and worse.

When it whistles, you don't understand

where it is and, God forbid, it will fly into you now.

As soon as there is an explosion,

you know that it is somewhere there...

And I'm running. We immediately ran out of here,

from the territory.

Because a shelter is a shelter,

and it is better than to be on the territory.

Everyone ran, ran as hard as they could.

31:18

The first time - it was a shock, nerves, of course.

Just, let's say, there were tears

of older people who have been working here for a long time.

Because they gave their lives for this work,

and here a Muscovite came and imposed his rules.

32:34

YEVHEN SHEPELENKO

«UKRENERGO» SUBSTATION senior dispatcher

In fact, everything is destroyed:

devices are destroyed, voltmeters,

ammeters, control keys with switches.

The workplace of operational personnel turned into ruins.

Russians destroyed our home...

32:52

Footage of the war chronicle

Music

33:09

ANDRIY DVORAKEVYCH

surgeon

When the panic started, it was dark all around,

all the streets near the hospital were dark,

but we had light.

When our engineers came and said that,

for a day of functioning,

we need 30 thousand hryvnias on diesel fuel,

for the generator to function.

We were preparing for this.

Many volunteers, our friends from Poland

and the Baltic countries, brought us diesel

fuel and generators.

At first we didn't even understand

why we needed so much, but then we understood.

33:44

We understand that when we work here

in the operating room, we often cannot leave

the operating room with a child,

and when there is an air alert,

we have to complete the operation.

Other children, of course,

if they are in the wards and can move,

they go to the shelters,

which are fully equipped on the territory of our hospital.

And the others are all working in their places.

When there is a child on mechanical ventilation

in the intensive care unit,

we cannot move him to the shelter.

We put him between two walls

and continue the treatment of the patient.

And if he requires urgent surgery,

everything continues, nothing stops.

34:24

Once we operated a child for eight hours

and during the time when the operation lasted,

there were two air raid sirens

and two cancellations of alert. I didn't feel that.

35:14

Evacuation trains arrive closest to the hospital.

Norwegian and German paramedics were transported

through this corridor to the reception room.

There were Saturdays when we had up to 14 children

from the evacuation train.

All heads of departments were at work at that time.

Children were sent to the reception room.

We brought them to the traumatology

or surgical examination room

and began assessing a patient,

that isthe so-called triage.

I remember how Liza came from Bakhmut,

whose story really impressed us.

The child was taking out the wounded

with a minibu and was seriously injured during the shooting.

Her lower limbs were injured.

She was brought to us by an evacuation train.

35:24

We were fired upon. I was wounded in the leg.

I couldn't do anything. The car broke down.

Barely started. And we went further.

36:16

The girl from the Stepanenki family

from Kramatorsk who, while waiting for the evacuation train,

appeared under fire, she was remembered the most.

36:23

Footage of the war chronicle

36:36

Something was whistling-flying.

Then I opened my eyes, my legs hurt strongly.

36:45

I looked at her feet, but she had no trainers on.

36:51

Mother and daughter were traumatized.

But the senior was an eleven-year-old son,

who played the role of a father, brother,

son, who immediately grew up,

taking care of his mother...

Who really took care of everybody like a man,

changing his sister's diapers,

carrying her from the bed to the stroller.

At the age of 11, he should not have had

such challenges and become such an adult.

36:55

Do you have a dream in you?

37:31

That my mother and sister get better.

And nothing else.

37:32

I had a Christmas tree at home, but without a star.

Well, you see, there is also one in the form

of a mini Christmas tree.

The star disappeared somewhere.

And where is it now?

I have no idea.

37:41

We are waiting for Christmas,

it will be a big holiday, right?

We sing carols, we are singing carols in families,

there is a festive dinner.

Well, I hope you will be at home at that time,

or will you be in the hospital?

I’ll be in the hospital.

In the hospital, well, that's fine.

Sooner or later you will be home.

Even if you are in the hospital,

we will carol together in the hospital

and then at home.

37:54

Happy New Year

38:15

Footage of the war chronicle

Music

38:22

Can you feel how ginger smells?

They are hot, wait a bit.

I have already understood that...

Thanks.

That’s tasty! Thank you.

38:37

Footage of the war chronicle

39:08

In the morning, the Russians attacked Kyiv region with drones.

In some areas, the morning began with an air alarm.

There were several explosions in the center of Kyiv.

Debris of downed drones fell into the administrative building

in the center of Kyiv.

39:12

OLEKSIY BREKHT

member of the board of «UKRENERGO» (responsible for the network operation)

You know, my brother was working on my shift that day...

It's like from the first source he called me

and probably already wanted to say goodbye...

It's hard to remember, because you understand

that it was aimed at us.

Unfortunately, people who accidentally came

under these attacks were injured.

A very sad and, as they say, wrong strategy.

Nevertheless, this situation was very emotionally

and difficult to perceive...

39:29

VITALIY ZAYCHENKO

chief dispatcher of the United Energy System of Ukraine

As a result of shaheeds hitting our building,

there was an explosive wave

that had a rather strong impact on the building,

as you saw, many windows simply flew out.

The windows in my office were opened

by an explosive wave and the ceiling

was simply torn from its fasteners, torn off.

40:15

You don't repair it by yourself.

Do you want to keep it as a memory?

40:33

Well, I understand that everything is not over yet,

so why rush?

They simply removed the suspended ceiling

that fell on the floor,

leveled it and we are working in those conditions.

The only thing is that the lamps,

I think that in the near future

they will be hung close to the work place

so that there is better lighting in the offices.

I think it's this gas tank hatch or whatever

it is that flew right here with that impact.

This is from their shaheed,

or whatever they call them.

40:36

Did you find it right in your office?

41:09

Yes, it flew straight into the office,

such piece of iron.

41:10

VITALIY ZAYCHENKO

chief dispatcher of the United Energy System of Ukraine

As soon as a missile hit here in Kyiv,

we immediately ensured the work of our dispatchers,

transferred most of the dispatchers to another,

protected place.

They did not work here in this room.

And after there were attacks by kamikaze drones

precisely on the control points of this building,

on the neighboring building,

on the next neighboring building.

It was aimed right at the control rooms, for sure!

And we understand that this information could

only be given by those Russian "colleagues"

in quotation marks who were here

and understand where everything is.

41:22

It was indicative that before the war,

probably somewhere within a year,

the committee for operational

and technical coordination – analogue of ENTSO-E tried to collect information

from us on all our energy facilities

with GPS coordinates, including the coordinates

of each support of the power line.

42:02

ENTSO-E, the European Network of Transmission System Operators

42:08

Well, it is owned by UkrEnergo with a voltage

of 220 to 750 kV. We understood

that this information could not be passed

on and we did not pass anything on.

42:21

OLEKSANDR RADIYEV

deputy of the 7^th State Fire and Rescue Unit of the Main Department of the State Service of Ukraine for Emergency Situations in Kyiv

In almost a year, we have seen a lot.

Energy structures, a shopping center

and residential buildings

and private residential buildings,

shopping and entertainment center.

You understand that there is a war in the country,

that this is not just a challenge,

that it is a challenge during martial law.

You understand that this challenge may be the last one.

Working through 10-15 calls per day

is physically exhausting.

42:41

How many calls did you have per day?

43:16

Well, in March, there were approximately 17 departures,

14 of which were because of shelling...

That's in one day.

The first few seconds...

That's not just some kind of a shock,

but rather some kind of assessment of the situation.

What shall I do? That's the first question.

Because when you go there,

you understand exactly where you are going,

what kind of object it is.

But, each shelling is different, different scales.

Well, the epicenter is the same,

but the scales are still different.

43:20

Transformer oil is stored at such facilities.

There is just oil, but also easily flammable substances

that are very difficult to extinguish

and the specifics of extinguishing such a fire

are not the same as ordinary extinguishing of an apartment.

44:16

Sometimes it's scary, sometimes it's very scary,

but as they say, a rescuer can't be afraid.

So, you turn off all your fears

and put on an armored helmet,

a bulletproof vest and go do your job.

Missiles still fly and you don't know what they are - Kalibr,

ballistic, Kynzhal.

And you don't know where it's going, no one can tell.

44:40

VITALIY ZAYCHENKO

chief dispatcher of the United Energy System of Ukraine

Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro, Kyiv, Lviv

are the main objects for committing the genocide

that they are committing.

It is clear that cities with millions of people

suffer the most without electricity.

It is difficult to provide people's needs,

such as water, electricity, heat,

sewerage in the absence of electricity.

45:14

Footage of the war chronicle

Music

45:47

photos by Serhiy Ristenko

46:03

SERHIY RISTENKO

aerial reconnaissance, photographer

Kyiv is definitely unbreakable.

People perceive missile shelling not as a threat

to their own lives, but simply as something

that can prevent their plans from their realization.

They are like this:

"Oh, damn, it looks like I'll be without a manicure again,

because weare having this blackout again.

But it's okay. She's accepting clients

in the parking lot now with a generator,

I can go to her".

46:03

We will survive.

No matter how hard they tried,

no one has yet defeated the Ukrainians.

Glory to Ukraine.

Glory to heroes.

46:25

In the city center, there is no light for 30 hours,

there is no mobile connection.

I look out the window and the neighboring districts

are also dark. And I think I need to get out of the balcony

and take a real blackout photo.

I didn't pick up a camera in my hand

for more than half a year,

I just wasn't in the mood to do this.

Although I knew that some of my friends

took cameras with them to the front to shoot,

but it just wasn't my story.

When the blackout happened

and when the city became so dark,

it was such a challenge for me

to find such a bright place in this darkness

even in the darkest place.

I was generally looking for some ray of light.

Well, you know, in the past reportage photo,

they told me to take a photo in such a way

as to show everything in one picture.

46:45

No matter what the problem is,

we need half a day to solve this problem.

The light went out - bam,

all the yards have generators instead

of air conditioners.

Suddenly, the Internet disappeared -

but people have a Starlink already.

Everyone has become more human, it seems to me.

47:47

Music

48:07

BLACKOUT

48:41

CHRISTMAS

48:42

Footage of the war chronicle

48:43

Light will overcome darkness, overcome fear.

49:51

Maybe a miracle, but in most cases,

as I believe, all miracles are done by people.

50:01

The holiday is inside us. They won't steal it.

What is ours is ours.

We will also grow potatoes in the ice.

50:15

Music

50:30

During the year of the war, Russian troops fired over 1,200 missiles and drones into the Ukraine’s energy system. More than 200 of them hit their targets.

50:36

50% of the power plants and more than 40% of the network were significantly damaged.

50:44

About 12 million Ukrainians were without electricity.

50:57

Script author Tala Prystaietska

Director Oleksii Yesakov

Director of photography Artem Vasylyev

Editor Olha Krechko

Editor Alla Mazhara

Editor Nina Silchenko

Editor Natalia Kruzhylina

Graphic designer Oleksandr Serbin

Creative producer Tala Prystayetska

Executive producer Nataliya Nykyforova

Executive producer llona Shneider

General producer Volodymyr Borodianskyi

General producer Dariya Leygonie-Fialko

General producer Ihor Storchak

Cameraman Andriy Osadchuk

Second director Dariya Nizhynets

Casting Alina Babinchuk

Music arrangement Olha Mykhalchenko

Film editing Olha Mykhalchenko

Film editing Larysa Shabratska

Sound director Yevhen Novikov

Sound director Viktor Biloblovskyi

Light Anton Hutianskyi

Light Denys Rybitskyi

Light Denys Chubenko

Colorist Artem Sirchenko

Colorist Maks Farysey

Video engineer Oleksandr Petrukhnov

Office administrator Iryna Cherniak

51:00

The creation of the film wouldn't be possible without the help of the

National Power Company "Ukrenergo" and Mariya Tsaturian personally,

as well as the group of companies DTEK and Oleksandr Shevelyov.

We thank the Defense Forces of Ukraine and energy industry workers

for their heroism and dedication.

©FOP Shneider 2023

51:15