On September 11, 2022, the Russian military struck the CHP-5 in Kharkiv and two sites near the city. This led to the temporary disappearance of power supply in several areas at once. Two Ukrenergo employees were killed at Kharkiv CHP-5 that evening. Photographers Konstantin and Vlad Liberova were in Kharov and filmed the effects of shelling on the city's power system.
On the evening of Sunday, September 11, 2022, the Russian forces launched cruise missiles of naval and air base. According to the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Ukrainian air defense system managed to destroy 9 out of 12 missiles. Russian troops shelled Zmiev TPP and Kharkiv CHP-5, where an administrative building was partially destroyed and a huge fire broke out. Four energy workers were killed during the shelling, and three others were wounded.
As a result of the rocket attacks in Kharkiv and in much of the region, the electricity supply disappeared, and without electricity, the pumps that supply water to the houses did not work. Hundreds of residents of Poltava, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Sumy and Donetsk regions were temporarily left without light. However, the power supply was restored in a very short time - after a few hours.
Photographers Konstantin and Vlada Liberova documented the large-scale counter-offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Kharkiv region and filmed the accommodation in Kharkiv.
“We were in the apartment and saw two very bright flashes one after the other. The light went out abruptly, the Internet and communication disappeared. The whole city instantly turned black,” recalls photographer Vlada Liberova. “There was a sense of detachment from the whole world, it was impossible to know whether the light disappeared only in Kharkiv or in other cities as well.”
In September 2022, shelling of energy infrastructure began, no one yet knew about blackouts and how to act in such cases.
“There was a feeling of great anxiety, armageddon, because after a strong flash, everything immediately went off,” says the photographer.
Vlada and Konstantin Liberov were the first to reach the scene of the shelling. Konstantin was able to call the head of the State Emergency Service of Kharkiv and find out the address.
“As we drove up, we saw the enormous scale of the destruction. The fire from the flames was very large, and the fire itself was very strong,” says Vlada Liberova.
She adds that the firefighters actively and heroically fought the fire, went into the blaze itself. After the shooting, the photographers realized that they had filmed a large-scale and new event in the Russian-Ukrainian war, because such a massive shelling of critical infrastructure took place for the first time.
The photographers then collaborated with the Associated Press agency and wanted to send the footage immediately.
“The internet didn't work and we were looking for a place where we could connect to the network and send at least some footage. I collected a publication for instagram and could not download it,” says Vlada Liberova.
They and Konstantin went to bed with a sense of anxiety and misunderstanding of the situation.
The Internet was restored only within a day and photographers were able to read news and analytical articles about the situation in Ukraine.
“We realized that this is the strategy of the Russian Federation in the near future — to destroy our infrastructure. We all remember that as a result of such shelling of stations, blackouts began all over Ukraine,” says photographer Vlada Liberova.
Konstantin Liberov — Ukrainian photographer, photojournalist. Knight of the Order “For Merit” III degree (2023). One of his photos was selected by Time magazine among the 100 Best Photos of 2022. During the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, together with his wife Vlada Liberova, they filmed the consequences of the war in Kharkiv, Siverodonetsk, Lisichansk, Svyatogorsk, Nikolaev, Bucha, Irpen, Kyiv and other cities.
Photos of Konstantin were published by The Kyiv Independent, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journa, The Insider, The Independent.
Photographer's social networks: Instagram, Facebook
The material was worked on:
Researcher of the topic, author of the text: Kateryna Moskalyuk
Bild-editor: Vyacheslav Ratynskyi
Literary Editor: Julia Futei
Site Manager: Vladislav Kuhar
Read also: Life on the edge. The struggle for the city of Bakhmut in the photos of Ukrainian documentarians
The project is implemented thanks to support of ZMIN.
On September 11, 2022, the Russian military struck the CHP-5 in Kharkiv and two sites near the city. This led to the temporary disappearance of power supply in several areas at once. Two Ukrenergo employees were killed at Kharkiv CHP-5 that evening. Photographers Konstantin and Vlad Liberova were in Kharov and filmed the effects of shelling on the city's power system.
On the evening of Sunday, September 11, 2022, the Russian forces launched cruise missiles of naval and air base. According to the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Ukrainian air defense system managed to destroy 9 out of 12 missiles. Russian troops shelled Zmiev TPP and Kharkiv CHP-5, where an administrative building was partially destroyed and a huge fire broke out. Four energy workers were killed during the shelling, and three others were wounded.
As a result of the rocket attacks in Kharkiv and in much of the region, the electricity supply disappeared, and without electricity, the pumps that supply water to the houses did not work. Hundreds of residents of Poltava, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Sumy and Donetsk regions were temporarily left without light. However, the power supply was restored in a very short time - after a few hours.
Photographers Konstantin and Vlada Liberova documented the large-scale counter-offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Kharkiv region and filmed the accommodation in Kharkiv.
“We were in the apartment and saw two very bright flashes one after the other. The light went out abruptly, the Internet and communication disappeared. The whole city instantly turned black,” recalls photographer Vlada Liberova. “There was a sense of detachment from the whole world, it was impossible to know whether the light disappeared only in Kharkiv or in other cities as well.”
In September 2022, shelling of energy infrastructure began, no one yet knew about blackouts and how to act in such cases.
“There was a feeling of great anxiety, armageddon, because after a strong flash, everything immediately went off,” says the photographer.
Vlada and Konstantin Liberov were the first to reach the scene of the shelling. Konstantin was able to call the head of the State Emergency Service of Kharkiv and find out the address.
“As we drove up, we saw the enormous scale of the destruction. The fire from the flames was very large, and the fire itself was very strong,” says Vlada Liberova.
She adds that the firefighters actively and heroically fought the fire, went into the blaze itself. After the shooting, the photographers realized that they had filmed a large-scale and new event in the Russian-Ukrainian war, because such a massive shelling of critical infrastructure took place for the first time.
The photographers then collaborated with the Associated Press agency and wanted to send the footage immediately.
“The internet didn't work and we were looking for a place where we could connect to the network and send at least some footage. I collected a publication for instagram and could not download it,” says Vlada Liberova.
They and Konstantin went to bed with a sense of anxiety and misunderstanding of the situation.
The Internet was restored only within a day and photographers were able to read news and analytical articles about the situation in Ukraine.
“We realized that this is the strategy of the Russian Federation in the near future — to destroy our infrastructure. We all remember that as a result of such shelling of stations, blackouts began all over Ukraine,” says photographer Vlada Liberova.
Konstantin Liberov — Ukrainian photographer, photojournalist. Knight of the Order “For Merit” III degree (2023). One of his photos was selected by Time magazine among the 100 Best Photos of 2022. During the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, together with his wife Vlada Liberova, they filmed the consequences of the war in Kharkiv, Siverodonetsk, Lisichansk, Svyatogorsk, Nikolaev, Bucha, Irpen, Kyiv and other cities.
Photos of Konstantin were published by The Kyiv Independent, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journa, The Insider, The Independent.
Photographer's social networks: Instagram, Facebook
The material was worked on:
Researcher of the topic, author of the text: Kateryna Moskalyuk
Bild-editor: Vyacheslav Ratynskyi
Literary Editor: Julia Futei
Site Manager: Vladislav Kuhar
Read also: Life on the edge. The struggle for the city of Bakhmut in the photos of Ukrainian documentarians
The project is implemented thanks to support of ZMIN.
UAPP is an independent association of professional Ukrainian photographers, designed to protect their interests, support, develop and promote Ukrainian photography as an important element of national culture.
UAPP's activities span educational, social, research and cultural initiatives, as well as book publishing.
UAPP represents Ukrainian professional photography in the international photographic community and is an official member of the Federation of European Photographers (FEP) — an international organization representing more than 50,000 professional photographers in Europe and other countries around the world.
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