People and Infrastructure during the War

For Citations

Authors: Oksana Avramenko, Dmytro Serbulov, Anna Rubanska.

Citation: Avramenko O., Serbulov D., Rubanska A., People and infrastructure during the War (dataset). Telegram Archive of the War, Center for Urban History (2024). Accessed via: https://telegram.lvivcenter.org.

Access: temporarily unavailable.

Usage: data can be used for non-commercial research only.

Topics: infrastructure, utility services, damage, restoration, power outage.

Data collected: - sectoral, primarily official, infrastructure channels of the offices and departments of the Ministry of Infrastructure, national and regional electricity and gas companies (thematic collection Infrastructure); -units outside the Infrastructure collection, the archival description of which mentions the issue of providing public utilities during the war (thematic collection Urban and Local).

Dataset description: The data allows us to trace the functioning of the infrastructure during the war, both in terms of its maintenance and restoration and use. It covers the work of utility workers and consumers' reactions to the quality of utility services and lack of electricity. Published on June 28, 2024.

[1]Telegram Archive of the War, ID 27, published: 30 April 2022, 12:28. Accessed via file: 26042022-02052022/messages.html, https://telegram.lvivcenter.org, Center for Urban History.

In the context of a full-scale invasion, the comfort of everyday activities such as hygiene or cooking, the use of electrical appliances, mobile and Internet communications, especially in regions within the ballistic missile zone, becomes a special privilege. Water, heating and gas pipes become military targets and are destroyed. Furthermore, their immediate restoration under the threat of new attacks becomes a matter of heroism and a manifestation of extreme professionalism.

The damage to Ukraine's infrastructure due to the war is estimated at around $155 billion as of January 2024: $9 billion in damage to the energy sector and $4.5 billion to the housing and utilities sector.[2].

In creating the Archive, the archivists paid particular attention to the state of housing and communal services during the war in the discussions of users. The relevant observations have been included in the descriptions and keywords of the archival units. The Archive material also highlights the selfless work of municipal, state and private company employees, who performed their duties in challenging and dangerous conditions, risking their own lives.

[3]Serbulov, D. (2024). Monument to the Heroes of Kharkiv Heating Networks [Photo].

The dataset contains data that can help answer a wide range of questions:

1. How did different utility companies respond to the emergencies of the first days of the war? Under what conditions did their employees have to work?

2. Was there a difference in the activities of the utilities in the temporarily occupied and government-controlled areas?

3. How did the population of different regions of Ukraine interact with utilities and telecommunications services during the war?

4. How did households react to the power cuts? How did businesses react? What measures were taken by the energy sector to restore power supply?

The dataset contains 63 channels and 64 chats from 4 thematic collections (Infrastructure, Urban and Local, Occupied Territories and Economy). The dataset contains archival units, of which 35 are classified as moderately sensitive and 93 as sensitive (for more information on sensitivity levels, see Access, ethical and legal issues section of the project report).

We suggest selecting keywords by infrastructure sector presented in the dataset for further work with the Archive's materials.

Dataset units by infrastructure sector.

References

[1]Telegram Archive of the War, ID 27, published: 30 April 2022, 12:28. Accessed via file: 26042022-02052022/messages.html, https://telegram.lvivcenter.org, Center for Urban History.

[2]«$155 billion — the total amount of damages caused to Ukraine’s infrastructure due to the war, as of January 2024», Kyiv School of Economics, published: 12 February 2024. Accessed via: https://web.archive.org/web/20240324150132/https://kse.ua/about-the-school/news/155-billion-the-total-amount-of-damages-caused-to-ukraine-s-infrastructure-due-to-the-war-as-of-january-2024/

[3] Serbulov, D. (2024). Monument to the Heroes of Kharkiv Heating Networks [Photo].

The chats of Kyiv and Kharkiv microdistricts reflect the reaction of local communities to the state and disruptions in the utility services, including evidence of the first power outages and blackout.

More observations by Oksana Avramenko

The Russian occupiers have destroyed the main water supply pipeline in Mykolaiv. Content from Telegram provides insight into the daily life of a half-million city without access to drinking water.

More observations by Anna Rubanska

The illustrations are taken from the Telegram Archive of the War.