Amid the relentless hum of turbines and the flashing control panels at Kyiv’s Combined Heat and Power Plant, shift supervisor Ihor Dudarenko stands as a beacon of resilience. His job at Kyivteploenergo is to ensure the station’s energy systems run smoothly—a role that became even more critical in the first chaotic months of the full-scale Russian invasion.
In those early days, Dudarenko and his team often worked three-day shifts due to logistical challenges and extended curfews. The situation took a perilous turn with the start of Russia’s bombing campaign against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, designed to cripple the capital’s heat and power supply.
One day, during Dudarenko’s shift, the plant came under attack by Russian missiles. This resulted in an emergency shutdown of the equipment and sparked a fire. Tragically, two of Dudarenko’s colleagues were killed instantly. With firefighters and emergency services yet to arrive, immediate action was imperative to prevent further disaster.
“We were focused only on shutting down the equipment and preventing greater destruction,” Dudarenko recalled. Under his leadership, the team manually injected carbon dioxide into a damaged generator, averting a catastrophic hydrogen explosion.
“In that critical situation, we did not think about ourselves; we thought about our station and the residents of Kyiv who could be left without heat,” said Dudarenko. Remarkably, within just two and a half hours of the attack, Dudarenko and his colleagues, in coordination with the Kyivteploenergo dispatch team, restored heat and power to a significant portion of Kyiv.
For his heroic efforts in preserving the integrity of this vital infrastructure, Ihor Dudarenko was awarded the Presidential Order for the Defense of Ukraine. His story is a poignant reminder of the everyday bravery, determination, and unyielding spirit of Ukraine’s energy workers. As Kyiv braces for the coming winter, Dudarenko and his team are preparing the CHP plant for the new heating season, embodying the resilience of a nation.
Background information:
Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), through its Energy Security Project (ESP), has provided Kyivteploenergo:
- 11.2 km of pre-insulated pipes and shut-off fittings
- 137 electric generators
- 2637 tons of industrial salt
- 4 excavators
- 20,320 meters of cable products
- 15 pumps