The Russian attack was deliberately programmed at night, to make drone sighting and destruction more difficult, given that in the entire capital the only lights on are those of the few buildings equipped with emergency generators and not even a street lamp is working anymore. Despite the sinister ploy, the Ukrainian army managed to limit the damage, caused only by the falling debris of the drones detonated in the air.
Currently, however, drones are not the main problem of the population, but the approximately 80 cruise missiles launched, since last November, against the water and energy infrastructures of the country. According to the Wall Street Journal, these attacks have reduced Ukraine's energy production by about 50%, forcing the inhabitants to survive in emergency conditions, with continuous electricity rationing, sudden blackouts and often without water and heating in the homes.
Without electricity
Although the energy companies have deployed thousands of engineers to restore the lines, the Ukrainian electricity grid is now mutilated and the government has had to reduce the quantity to about eight hours a day of energy usable by people. However, the times are not fixed and are not the same for all districts or cities. To find out when you will have electricity, you need to enter your address on a website and from there understand when and if you will have energy during the day. And this only applies in the absence of bombing. In the event of an attack, you can be without light for the whole day.Energy rationing does not concern only individuals, but any use that is not strictly necessary. For example, all street lighting is out of order throughout Ukraine and people are forced to move around using flashlights and high-visibility vests to walk home. Therefore the authorities and allies are trying to find solutions to reduce consumption, while increasing energy efficiency in order to restore some normality to the population.
Among these, almost incredible for its simplicity, is the use of LED bulbs instead of halogen and fluorescent ones, still widely used throughout the country. According to forecasts by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, reported by Reuters, Ukraine would need 50 million LED light bulbs today to significantly reduce the country's energy shortage.
This is an immense amount , but which the European Union has already moved to fill by promising the supply of 30 million LED light bulbs by January 2023. As stated by Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, if the other partners also undertake to supply these light bulbs in Ukraine, the total energy savings would amount to one gigawatt of electricity, equivalent to the annual production of a nuclear power plant.