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The station serves not only the capital but also a number of cities and communities in the region, including Vyshhorod, Irpin, Vyshneve, Bortnychi, Hnedyn, Chaban, and Kotsyubynske.
After Russia’s massive rocket and drone attack on Kyiv on the night of May 24, social media and the media began to actively discuss a possible strike on the Bortnychi aeration station – one of the key facilities of the capital’s life support system. Oleksandr Brodsʹkyy, head of the Kyiv City Council commission on housing and communal services and fuel and energy complex, told Glavcom that the station continues to operate normally.
“Glavcom” has gathered information about the Bortnychi aeration station, its importance, and the potential consequences of an attack by the Russian Federation.
What is known about the Bortnychi aeration station
The Bortnychi aeration station is the only large-scale biological wastewater treatment complex in Kyiv and parts of the Kyiv region. The station serves not only the capital but also a number of cities and communities in the region, including Vyshhorod, Irpin, Vyshneve, Bortnychi, Hnedyn, Chaban, and Kotsyubynske.
The facility is located in the southeastern part of Kyiv, in the Bortnychi area, and is effectively the final point of the capital’s entire sewage system. This is where domestic and industrial wastewater enters before treatment and subsequent discharge into the Dnipro River.
The designed capacity of the station is about 1.8 million cubic meters of wastewater per day. However, the actual load is usually between 600,000 and 900,000 cubic meters.
How the treatment system works
The Bortnychi aeration station consists of three main treatment units, pumping stations, sludge treatment workshops, and auxiliary infrastructure. The treatment process involves several stages. First, the wastewater passes through screens where large debris is trapped. Then, the water enters grit chambers, where heavy impurities are separated.
After that, the wastewater goes into primary sedimentation tanks, where organic matter settles. The next stage is biological treatment in aeration tanks using activated sludge and oxygen. The process is completed in secondary sedimentation tanks, after which the treated water is discharged into the Dnipro River.
Massive combined attack on Kyiv on the night of May 24
Following the massive Russian strike on Kyiv on May 24, messages about the possible damage to the Bortnychi aeration station began to spread on social media.
Oleksandr Brodsʹkyy, head of the Kyiv City Council commission on housing and communal services and fuel and energy complex, stated in a comment to Glavcom: “The facility is operating normally. No emergency situations were recorded as a result of the last shelling. The enterprise and the Armed Forces are taking all possible measures to ensure uninterrupted operation.”
In turn, Kateryna Pop, spokeswoman for the State Emergency Service of Kyiv, also stated on the air of Hromadske Radio that all Kyivvodokanal facilities are operating normally after the attack. “There are no deviations. There are no infrastructural damages or operational failures either. Even yesterday, water supply continued to be carried out in full,” she said.
At the same time, Kateryna Pop noted that the missiles could have been aimed at this facility. “Perhaps the missiles were indeed aimed at this facility, but the work of our Air Force and Defense Forces helped prevent accidents and infrastructural damage to water supply facilities,” emphasized the spokeswoman for the State Emergency Service of Kyiv.
What are the possible consequences
Following reports of a possible strike on the station, panic-driven predictions about a potential environmental disaster, fish kills, and water problems in Kyiv began to appear on social media. However, experts urge not to exaggerate the scale of the threat.
Oleksandr Serhiyenko, director of the research and analysis center “Institute of the City,” explained on Espresso that the worst-case scenario would be untreated wastewater entering the Dnipro River. “The worst thing that could happen after the Russians hit the Bortnychi aeration station is that water treatment would not occur,” he said.
According to Serhiyenko, the station is the final point where Kyiv’s domestic and industrial wastewater flows. “So, to summarize, the worst-case scenario could be the discharge of untreated water into the Dnipro,” the expert emphasized.
At the same time, he added that panic-driven statements about mass poisoning or disaster are currently exaggerated. “I read panic sentiments among people on social media that there could be poisoning and fish kills. In reality, no one can say exactly about such consequences,” Serhiyenko stated.
According to him, the main burden in case of problems with the station could fall on the water utilities of cities located downstream of the Dnipro.
Artem Shyra, vice president of the Ukrainian Water Association, gave a similar assessment. In a comment to Telegraf, he stated: “If our enemies strike at wastewater treatment facilities, it will be at least problematic for the water infrastructure.”
According to the expert’s assessment, the maximum damage could be a local environmental problem in the section of the Dnipro downstream of the discharge point. “Fish could suffer. It won’t reach other cities; it will purify naturally,” Shyra said.
At the same time, Iryna Starchuk, program coordinator for Ukraine at the European Climate Foundation, emphasized that the environmental consequences could be serious. “The environmental consequences of discharging untreated water could indeed be significant because the water is eventually discharged into the Dnipro,” she noted.
Is there a threat to Kyiv now
Currently, it is reported that the Bortnychi aeration station is operating normally, and no critical disruptions in the water supply and sewage systems have been recorded. Experts also note that the system has backup capabilities. Two out of the three main treatment units are sufficient for stable operation.
Despite this, specialists emphasize that the Bortnychi aeration station remains one of the key critical infrastructure facilities in Kyiv, and its potential serious damage could create significant environmental risks for the Dnipro and cities downstream.
As reported, the massive attack on Ukraine on the night of May 24 was one of the most expensive and large-scale in recent times. Russia used everything from ballistic and hypersonic missiles to hundreds of attack drones and decoys, trying to overload Ukrainian air defenses simultaneously and inflict maximum destruction. The cost of this attack is estimated in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
Glavcom detailed what exactly the occupiers attacked Kyiv with on the night of May 24, how much the attack cost, why Russia continues expensive attacks, and whether the Russian Federation can maintain such a pace.
In total, the Air Force’s radio engineering troops detected 690 aerial attack assets – 90 missiles and 600 UAVs of various types. This was one of the largest combined attacks in which Russia used both expensive high-precision missiles and cheaper drones and decoys to overload Ukrainian air defenses.
Incidentally, after the attack, Ukraine demands an urgent convocation of a UN Security Council meeting and a joint meeting of the OSCE Forum for Security Cooperation and the OSCE Permanent Council.
At the same time, the massive night attack on Kyiv on the night of May 24 did not reveal any technological or tactical novelties, but it did reveal the enemy’s clear focus on overwhelming Ukrainian skies. Serhiy Flesh Beskrestnov, a communications systems specialist and advisor to the Minister of Defense, spoke about the specifics of the enemy’s latest attack.