Mykolaiv Heating Plant Severely Damaged: “Everyone Here is a Civilian, but the Missiles are Aimed at Us.”

Ukraine's energy infrastructure is consistently targeted. The civilians working at the plants are finding themselves on a new type of frontline.

© Rasmus Emil Gravesen

DCA-NCA Ukraine

The central heating plant in Mykolaiv, which provides heating to around 160,000 people, has been repeatedly attacked as it supplies Mykolaiv with the critically important heat needed during the winter. Among several aerial attacks, two missiles struck the heating plant in October, destroying much of the plant’s capacity to supply heat and shattering the facade and all the windows of the office building.

Between February 2022 and May 2024, a total of 18 large-scale CHP plants were damaged or destroyed, as well as 815 boiler houses, 152 central heating points, and 354 kilometres of district heating pipes, according to the Kyiv School of Economics.

All offices in the building, where Valeriia works, were damaged in the strike.
DCA-NCA supports heating to Mykolaiv citizens

With funding from NORAD, DCA-NCA is supporting the heating plant to rebuild by providing building materials and 45 new windows made from plastic material, which is more resistant to shock waves from explosions. Previously, DCA-NCA has supported the heating plant with new flow-meters for pumps – and will in 2025 provide four brand new pumps for the plant too.

DCA-NCA has also sent specialists to conduct psychosocial supports sessions for the employees, funded by NORAD too.

27-year-old Valeriia, together with her twin sister Alyona, who also works at the heating plant, is one of the employees who experienced the October attack.

“It was the worst attack we have experienced. Previously, there have been drone strikes, but this was much more intense. The whole building shook, and the windows blew in,” Valeriia explains.

She began working at the heating plant a year and a half ago as a project manager. Suddenly, she found herself in one of the areas of Mykolaiv most frequently targeted by missiles and drones.

“Everyone who works here is a civilian. None of us are used to war, but it is us the missiles are aimed at. We work on critical infrastructure that provides heat and electricity to people. That is why we are a target,” says Valeriia.

One of the impact sites from the October strike.

Keeping the heating plant running is essential for the residents of Mykolaiv, where temperatures often drop below freezing in the winter. However, it is a challenging task when rebuilding the damage caused by missiles and drones is an ongoing necessity.

“We do our best to keep people’s homes warm. That requires us to have access to rebuilding our plant,” explains Serhii, an engineer at the heating plant.

Alongside the material support for the plant, DCA-NCA has organised psychosocial support groups for the employees, providing employees with a safe space to process their trauma, stress, and the challenges of being caught in the crossfire.

“During the last attack, we needed to call in emergency responders, and people had to go to the hospital. Thankfully, no one died, but it is extremely stressful to experience,” says Valeriia, continuing:

“My family, of course, worries about both me and my sister Alyona, but they have also gotten used to us working here. For me, it means a lot that my colleagues are like a family. We support each other through thick and thin.”

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