paul shmotolokha

If I went to Russia, I would be jailed and held hostage as a POW for criticizing Russia. I went to Ukraine as a critic and the President of Ukriane invited me to his palace and allowed me to interview him. After I interviewed @ZelenskyyUa, Russian state media, which is controlled by Putin and the Kremlin, was calling for me to be assassinated and then they were retweeting IRGC propaganda videos that called for Islamic terrorists to shoot me in the head. Ukraine and Russia aren’t the same.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Russian forces just launched a massive attack on a thermal power plant that belongs to DTEK, Ukraine’s largest private energy company. The power plant has now stopped generating electricity. While I was in Ukraine in July, I saw this side of Russia's war against Ukraine with my own eyes. After driving back from Kharkiv, where I passed gas stations that had been destroyed in recent Russian drone strikes, I visited a @dtek_en power substation outside of Kyiv that Russian forces have been working to destroy since 2022. Despite multiple missile attacks, Ukrainians rebuilt the facility and got it back up and running. The purpose of the visit was to understand how Russia is systematically targeting Ukraine's critical energy infrastructure. The Russians attack not just military sites, but the systems ordinary people rely on every day to keep the lights on. On the way to the substation, there was an air raid alert. We immediately had to follow the site's emergency protocol because Russia continues targeting Ukrainian energy infrastructure. We immediately rushed into a bomb shelter beneath a nearby school as the sound of explosions could be heard nearby. The safest place we could seek shelter was inside the bomb shelter for a local school that is next to DTEK, because Ukrainian children have to hide there whenever Russia launches missiles and drones. These kids aren't on a battlefield. They're trying to go to school. This wasn't a drill. I experienced firsthand what it's like to have your day interrupted because Russia is trying to terrorize an entire country. I met with the energy workers and grid operators who keep Ukraine's lights on. They told me about the brutal attacks on their energy grid last winter, how Russia deliberately tried to leave millions of civilians without heat and electricity, and why they're worried about the coming winter, especially if Ukraine doesn't urgently receive enough air defense. What struck me most was their patriotism. Each of these workers understands they could become a target simply by going to work. Yet, they keep showing up, because they believe keeping the lights on in Ukraine is part of defending their country from Putin’s aggression. Americans should pay attention to what's happening and how Putin is terrorizing Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. Ukraine's experience is a reminder that energy security is national security. Critical infrastructure can become a battlefield, and protecting it is essential for any nation. There is a lot we can learn from Ukraine. WATCH my full interview at DTEK here: 👇🏻