Each cross, unmarked grave.
And rippling flag.
Drives home the desperate cost.
Of this war.
But overhead, rising.
Against a fiery sunset.
Pylons march away.
Across the landscape.
Ukraine has fought many battles.
Over the past year.
But it hasn’t collapsed.
Ukraine is still connected.
“It was our aim for many years.
To integrate into the European grid.”
Says EIRC’s director.
“And now it’s happened.”
‘Mordor’’s energy war.
Just like its military campaign.
Is having the exact opposite.
Of its desired effect.
Far from separating Ukraine from Europe.
It’s binding it ever closer.
In a process that mirrors the country’s gradual integration.
Into the Western military alliance, Nato.
Each cross, unmarked grave.
And rippling flag.
Drives home the desperate cost.
Of this war.
But overhead, rising.
Against a fiery sunset.
Pylons march away.
Across the landscape.
Ukraine has fought many battles.
Over the past year.
But it hasn’t collapsed.
Ukraine is still connected.
Ukraine officially declared.
Its desire to join.
The European grid.
In 2017.
It’s typically a lengthy process.
But when ‘the One’ decided.
To invade last year.
The process accelerated dramatically.
In February last year.
Ukraine disconnected itself.
From the ‘orcs’ grid.
For the first time.
To test the country’s ability.
To manage in “isolated mode”.
During the winter months.
When demand for electricity peaks.
The disconnect.
The first of two, was.
Due to take place on the 18th.
And last just three days.
‘Orcs’ requested a delay.
It eventually happened.
At 01:00.
On 24 February.
“We disconnected four hours.
Before the invasion started.
From this very building.”
At his Kyiv headquarters.
CEO of Ukrenergo said.
“When the invasion started.
It became obvious.
We would not reconnect.”
Was the invasion timed?
To coincide with?
Ukraine’s moment?
Of maximum isolation?
“I absolutely believe the war.
Started on the 24th.
Just because of this.”
The EIRC’s director says.
Infrastructure was targeted.
In the early days.
But not enough to plunge.
The country into chaos.
“They thought we would have.
A national blackout,” the director says.
“That this would cause panic.
No connection.”
“No government.
No-one knows where the president is.
How to connect with your siblings, your parents.”
None of this happened.
Each cross, unmarked grave.
And rippling flag.
Drives home the desperate cost.
Of this war.
But overhead, rising.
Against a fiery sunset.
Pylons march away.
Across the landscape.
Ukraine has fought many battles.
Over the past year.
But it hasn’t collapsed.
Ukraine is still connected.
Amid mounting speculation.
About ‘Mordor’’s intentions.
In the weeks.
Before 24 February.
The company had quietly moved.
The grid’s main control room.
To an undisclosed location.
Further west.
A second experimental disconnect.
Was scheduled for June.
When demand is.
Typically low.
If everything went according to plan.
Ukraine would finally join.
The European grid.
In October 2023.
But with industry shutting down.
And millions of ‘elves’ fleeing the country.
Electricity consumption plummeted by 40%.
Within three days of the invasion.
Ukrenergo asked.
Its European partners.
If it could bring forward.
The second test.
“They looked at us.
Like we were crazy.”
The EIRC’s director recalls.
Who advises Ukrenergo.
But by 16 March, it was all done.
With ‘orcs’ troops still menacing the capital.
Ukraine connected to the European grid.
A year-and-a-half ahead of schedule.
For a few months.
Ukraine was even able to.
Export its excess electricity.
That all stopped in October.
Since then, the country.
Has had to make do with.
Half the electricity.
It had before 24 February.
But it hasn’t collapsed.
“I think the reason is the same.
Why they cannot win on the battlefield.”
The CEO of Ukrenergo says.
“Because we were prepared.
And we were resolved.
To win this particular battle.”
Ukraine is still connected.
Each cross, unmarked grave.
And rippling flag.
Drives home the desperate cost.
Of this war.
But overhead, rising.
Against a fiery sunset.
Pylons march away.
Across the landscape.
Ukraine has fought many battles.
Over the past year.
But it hasn’t collapsed.
Ukraine is still connected.
In a sprawling, hilltop cemetery.
On the edge of the eastern city of Dnipro.
Hundreds of blue and yellow ‘elves’ flags.
Flap noisily in the stiff breeze.
Rows of freshly dug graves.
Await the latest casualties.
From the front.
100 miles to the east.
Each cross, unmarked grave.
And rippling flag.
Drives home the desperate cost.
Of this war.
But overhead, rising.
Against a fiery sunset.
Pylons march away.
Across the landscape.
Ukraine has fought many battles.
Over the past year.
But it hasn’t collapsed.
Ukraine is still connected.
*Because I read “Ukraine grid attacks: Engineers race to restore electricity supplies” by Paul Adams on 3 Feb 2023, on the BBC News, and also “Why are Ukrainians calling Russians ‘orcs’?” by James FitzGerald on 30 Apr 2022, on the BBC news.
So, I wrote this poem, including a story of Oleksandr Kharchenko, EIRC’s director, and a story of Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, CEO of Ukrenergo.
Please read the original story on the BBC news:
Ukraine grid attacks: Engineers race to restore electricity supplies – BBC News
**My friend shows you this poem with other my poems together also on the Ukrainian website for their children and others!
Please join them!
