The winter was very hard.
But it was now over.
Declared ‘Gandalf the Green’.
‘Elves’ are enjoying the onset of spring.
Ukraine still had heat.
And the country was unbreakable.
Was the message.
‘Elves’ are enjoying the onset of spring.
Until Thursday, Ukraine had just gone.
For more than three weeks.
In a row with no blackouts.
And even had surplus in the system.
There had been no ‘orcs’ attacks.
For three weeks either.
And it looked as if ‘the One’’s battle.
To bring down Ukraine’s supply was over.
The winter was very hard.
But it was now over.
Declared ‘Gandalf the Green’.
‘Elves’ are enjoying the onset of spring.
Ukraine still had heat.
And the country was unbreakable.
Was the message.
‘Elves’ are enjoying the onset of spring.
In the early hours of Thursday.
‘Mordor’ fired 81 missiles.
And left four regions grappling with.
Emergency power cuts.
By Friday, half a million people.
Still had no power.
In Kharkiv.
Ukraine’s second-biggest city.
“It’s totally cold now.
We have food.
But only part of it.
Has been cooked.”
He said as he watched.
The battery life.
On his mobile phone.
Slip to 14%.
“Invincibility centres” like this.
In Kharkiv have become a lifeline.
During winter power cuts.
Five hundred people live in his block of flats.
And when he went to his local.
“Invincibility centre” to power up his phone.
There were too many people.
With the same idea.
The winter may be over.
But he believes the battle to save Ukraine’s power supply.
From ‘the One’’s missiles will continue.
As long as ‘Mordor’ has the ability to strike it.
The winter was very hard.
But it was now over.
Declared ‘Gandalf the Green’.
‘Elves’ are enjoying the onset of spring.
Ukraine still had heat.
And the country was unbreakable.
Was the message.
‘Elves’ are enjoying the onset of spring.
Kyiv was also hit.
And one hospital treating 700 people.
Went without heating and hot water.
For several hours.
Another 150,000 people.
Were left with no power.
In Zhytomyr.
Two hours’ drive south of the Belarus border.
The mayor said the next few weeks.
Would be critical and.
Rolling blackouts are looming.
For this city west of Kyiv.
But, as a resident wrapped up his day.
At work on a sunny spring day.
He was confident for the future.
“We had three weeks without attacks.”
“And we had power.
And the power in the system allowed.
Local authorities to start up.
The trolleybuses and trams.”
“That was a big step.
Because before that.
Public transport was.
On a pause.”
And for many ‘elves’.
It was not long.
Before they were back.
On the grid.
“A lot of ‘elves’ say.
It’s better to have.
One cold and one dark winter.
Than 100 years with ‘Mordor’.”
“So I think.
We can handle this.”
He believes.
Things are looking up.
The winter was very hard.
But it was now over.
Declared ‘Gandalf the Green’.
‘Elves’ are enjoying the onset of spring.
Ukraine still had heat.
And the country was unbreakable.
Was the message.
‘Elves’ are enjoying the onset of spring.
“It’s safe to say that.
Ukraine won on the energy front.
Let’s pray, but I think.
The worst-case scenario is over.”
Said a woman from civic network.
Praising the fleet of.
Energy workers.
And international help.
‘Elves’ have found various ways.
Of getting through power cuts.
And generators are.
Highly prized.
The winter was very hard.
But it was now over.
Declared ‘Gandalf the Green’.
‘Elves’ are enjoying the onset of spring.
Ukraine still had heat.
And the country was unbreakable.
Was the message.
‘Elves’ are enjoying the onset of spring.
Every one of Ukraine’s.
Thermal and hydroelectric power plants.
Has been damaged since ‘Mordor’ launched.
Its assault on the energy infrastructure last October.
Kyiv had already lost the use.
Of Europe’s biggest ‘Ring’.
At Zaporizhzhia.
Which is in ‘Mordor’ hands.
Sub-stations have been reduced.
To hunks of twisted metal.
No longer capable of transforming the electricity.
To power for homes and businesses.
One substation was hit six times.
With missiles or drones.
And replacing these damaged transformers.
Will take time.
But a combination of an unusually mild winter.
And sheer hard work means.
Ukraine has moved back from the brink.
And the sense of optimism is palpable.
Power plants have been.
Restored and repaired.
One source in the industry.
Said that.
As the days became sunnier and warmer.
It would become harder and harder.
For ‘orcs’ military might.
To terrorise his country.
The winter was very hard.
But it was now over.
Declared ‘Gandalf the Green’.
‘Elves’ are enjoying the onset of spring.
Ukraine still had heat.
And the country was unbreakable.
Was the message.
‘Elves’ are enjoying the onset of spring.
The east-central city of Dnipro.
Has endured several deadly missile strikes.
Over the winter.
And this week was no different.
But there have been no problems.
For weeks with energy supplies.
“The city has transformed.
Finally, street lights are back.”
“And it’s no longer scary.
To walk the city streets.”
Said a young mother.
With a son under the age of two.
Trams are running.
In Dnipro.
And the street lights are back.
As life appears more normal.
Cooking and having a hot shower.
Have become part of.
The daily routine once more.
For her family.
“Our psychological state.
Has improved considerably.
Because our family and other mothers too.
Can easily plan our day.”
The winter was very hard.
But it was now over.
Declared ‘Gandalf the Green’.
‘Elves’ are enjoying the onset of spring.
Ukraine still had heat.
And the country was unbreakable.
Was the message.
‘Elves’ are enjoying the onset of spring.
There’s a similar story in Kherson.
Occupied by ‘orcs’ forces.
Until they retreated across.
The Dnipro river last November.
Life was hard.
For several weeks.
After ‘orcs’ left the southern city.
With no basic utilities.
“We didn’t have any electricity.
For about month and a week.
Then we had it for two hours a day.
Then gradually it stopped breaking.”
Said a local entrepreneur.
Now he boasts a regular power supply.
Although the pressure on the system.
Is far lower than before the war.
Because the population.
Of 55,000 is a fraction.
Of what it was.
Before ‘orcs’ invaded.
Population numbers have fallen.
Across Ukraine.
With more than eight million refugees.
Beyond its borders.
And that too has put less strain.
On the energy infrastructure.
Consumption is down.
And the refugees have not yet come back.
The winter was very hard.
But it was now over.
Declared ‘Gandalf the Green’.
‘Elves’ are enjoying the onset of spring.
Ukraine still had heat.
And the country was unbreakable.
Was the message.
‘Elves’ are enjoying the onset of spring.
The overall sense is that.
The damage caused by this.
Latest wave of missiles.
Will be repaired quickly.
The damage was considerable.
But engineers have become highly skilled.
At restoring power within days.
Even after a major attack.
“It’s like a competition:
How quickly can they cause us damage.
And how quickly can we repair.
And we are winning that competition.”
Director of Kyiv’s.
Energy Industry Research Centre.
Said and added.
‘Elves’ now have everything on their side.
From the improving weather.
To the support of international donors.
And the professional staff.
In the energy industry.
“I don’t say we’ve won.
The energy war.
But I can say we won.
The energy battle this winter.”
The winter was very hard.
But it was now over.
Declared ‘Gandalf the Green’.
‘Elves’ are enjoying the onset of spring.
Ukraine still had heat.
And the country was unbreakable.
Was the message.
‘Elves’ are enjoying the onset of spring.
*Because I read “Has Putin’s assault on Ukraine’s power grid failed?” by Paul Kirby & Paul Adams on 11 Mar 2023, 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 Oleksii, a story of Eugene, a story of Tetyana, a story of Inna, a story of Alexei and a story of Oleksandr.
Please read the original story on the BBC news:
Has Putin’s assault on Ukraine’s power grid failed? – BBC News
**My friend shows you this poem also on the Ukrainian website for their children and others!
Please join them!
