Ukrainian engineers scramble to keep mobile phones working

A view of a phone tower of Ukrainian mobile telephone network operator Kyivstar. With Ukraine racing to keep communications lines open in wartime, the country's phone operators have mobilised more than usual to help people stay in touch - such as by revving up generators to power mobile towers after Russian strikes took out the electricity they usually run on. — AP

KYIV: With Ukraine scrambling to keep communication lines open during the war, an army of engineers from the country’s phone companies has mobilised to help the public and policymakers stay in touch during repeated Russian missile and drone strikes.

The engineers, who typically go unseen and unsung in peacetime, often work around the clock to maintain or restore phone service, sometimes braving minefields to do so. After Russian strikes took out the electricity that cellphone towers usually run on, they revved up generators to keep the towers on.