Ukraine's biggest energy provider is living in permanent crisis mode because of Russian attacks on the grid, its chief executive has told the BBC.
Most of Ukraine is suffering from lengthy power cuts as temperatures drop and Maxim Timchenko, whose company DTEK provides power for 5.6 million Ukrainians, says the intensity of strikes has been so frequent we just don't have time to recover.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday that Russia knew the winter cold could become one of its most dangerous weapons.
As the fourth anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion approaches, Maxim Timchenko said Russia has repeatedly targeted DTEK's energy grid with waves of drones, cruise and ballistic missiles and his company has found it difficult to cope.
Tens of thousands of people in the southern city of Odesa have been without electricity for three days this week, following a coordinated Russian attack.
Across Ukraine, electricity is being rationed, with supplies turned on for a few hours each day. Many Ukrainians rely on power banks and generators as a backup, and the sound of generators in the capital is now more constant than the air raid warnings.
About 50% of Ukraine's energy is currently supplied by three large nuclear power plants in central and western Ukraine. However, the network that transfers that power has been severely damaged.
This year, DTEK has had to spend $166m on repairing its damaged thermal power plants and coal facilities. We will not give up, Maxim Timchenko insists: We have a responsibility to millions of mothers to have power and heat.
DTEK's origins are in the Donbas in Eastern Ukraine, where the fighting is fiercest and power supplies have been disrupted the most. Eight of its engineers have been killed doing their job. Every day they risk their lives to keep power in this area, Mr Timchenko said.
