Sergey Shabohin/ BY/PL
Atlas Of Tectonic Landscapes: Through The Eclipse Corridor 2023
23:56
-23:56

Entanglement of Infrastructures. Civilian Systems Under the Pressures of Militarization

About The Issue

Editorial. Issue 1

Antonina Stebur/ BY/PL
An editorial exploring how civilian infrastructures are co-opted, transformed, and weaponized in modern contexts, examining various forms of interaction between civilian and militarised infrastructures, especially those affected by war.

Can Colonialism Be Encoded?

eeefff/ BY/DE
An analysis of leaked source code from Yandex, examining how colonial practices and power dynamics are embedded in technical infrastructure through geographical data manipulation, worker control systems, and algorithmic abstractions.

The Temporal Occupation of Ukrainian Housing by russia

Oleksii Minko/ UA
An analysis of how Russian occupation practices in Ukraine weaponize housing infrastructure, combining destruction with construction to establish control over territories while erasing local histories and displacing populations through bureaucratic and military means.

Economies of the Aftermath

Nazar Golianych/ UA
An analysis of economic transformation in post-violence environments, focusing on Mariupol as a case study of how systematic infrastructure destruction leads to new forms of economic colonization and control. The study examines how the economy emerges as an architecture of gaps—disrupted labor, fractured markets, and severed infrastructures—where survival and exploitation continue to evolve.

Revealing the Landscape: Mapping Cyclical History of Colonial Infrastructure of the Kakhovka Dam

Sonya Isupova/ UA/CH
A deep exploration of the Kakhovka Dam's complex history and transformation through innovative machine-assisted cartography, examining the impact of its construction in the 1950s and destruction in 2023 on Ukraine's southern landscape and its people.

Memories of Lake Balkhash

Aigerim Kapar/ KZ
A personal account of the environmental catastrophe that led to the disappearance of Lake Balkhash in Kazakhstan by 2040, exploring the intersection of climate change, colonial history, and local activism through the lens of personal and collective memory.

The Weaponization of Ecosystems: Historical and Contemporary Parallels

Liza Goncharenko/ UA/BE
An exploration of how ecosystems become both tools and targets in warfare, from Nazi Germany's scorched-earth policies to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, examining the intersection of environmental destruction and military strategy while advocating for a decolonial framework of ecological care and restoration.

Guide: Planned Outage for Russian Military

Anonymous/
A comprehensive technical guide on disrupting electricity supply to military bases through targeting civilian electrical infrastructure components like transformers, transmission lines, and substations.

The Alienation Zone: Radioactive Entanglements of Past and Present

Hanna Paniutsich/ BY/GB
An examination of the historical and contemporary impact of nuclear infrastructure in Belarus and Ukraine, focusing on the Paliessie region and the aftermath of the Chernobyl disaster. The article explores how radiation and pollution are used as tools of colonization, affecting both human and non-human populations across generations.

System of Dependency: "Druzhba" project. Nomeda and Gediminas Urbonas in conversation with Tatiana Kochubinska

Tatiana Kochubinska/ UANomeda and Gediminas Urbonas/ LT
A conversation reflecting on the artistic project "Druzhba" by Nomeda and Gediminas Urbonas, exploring the political, economic, and cultural implications of the Soviet-era "Druzhba" pipeline. Through the discussion, the artists uncover historical, political, and social layers embedded in the pipeline's operation, examining themes of infrastructure, power, and the intersection of rationality and magic.

Community, Science, and Art: Mutual Support in Times of War

Maryna Konieva/ UAOleksandr Osipov/ UA
War disrupts the usual order of life, forcing people to adapt, find new ways of survival, form unusual connections, and acquire new skills. Kharkiv, a powerful center of culture and science, exemplifies how people, united by shared values, support each other under extraordinary circumstances.

Military on the Coast in Times of Peace

Antonia Dika/ AT
An examination of the overlapping phenomena of military and tourism urbanization along the Adriatic coast during the Cold War, exploring how the rise of mass tourism and establishment of concealed military defence sites shaped the region's social and spatial dynamics.

Adaptive Violence: How War Transformed Institutions and Art

Natasha Chychasova/ UA
A personal account of the transformation of Izolyatsia, a cultural center in Donetsk, from an art space into a prison during the Russian occupation, examining how war impacts cultural institutions and how art responds to violence. The article explores the systematic destruction of cultural heritage in Ukraine and the artistic community's strategies of resistance and adaptation.

Guide. Planned Outage for Russian Military

One of the most effective ways to disrupt a military action is to sabotage its infrastructure.

This manual specifically covers the blackout of electricity supply for military bases.

Why electricity?

Contemporary warfare requires vast amounts of energy to operate. This energy cannot be generated entirely from within a military base. An army base must rely on civilian electricity infrastructure outside the military base. This civilian electricity infrastructure is never as safeguarded by troops, making it easier to sabotage than a target inside the military base. The civilian electric infrastructures include transmission lines, transformers, and substations physically connected to a military base. They are vital yet highly vulnerable and least protected elements of military infrastructures. The disruption or failure in one knot of an electric grip causes the switch-off of entire lines that extend to dozens or hundreds of kilometers. This means you have much freedom in choosing a safe target for an attack.

The disruption of the energy transmission will not literally switch the military base off. Most bases have functional generators that can sustain them for days and sometimes months. Still, specifically in the case of the Russian army, there are reasons to suspect that the generators kept at the bases are not fully functional or are present only on paper. Furthermore, many base functions, ranging from air traffic management to first aid and blood transmission, require a constant immense supply of electricity that is impossible to match with the generators. Furthermore, electricity sabotage will force higher dependence on fuel, which is always in shortage. The cumulative importance of electricity sabotage has been reflected in the Armed Forces of Ukraine's attacks that have systematically targeted the substations.

Preparation: 1. Identify the target.

Each military base has a corresponding substation. The location of these substations and their transmission lines, despite being classified, can be found using information available online (this process is called open-source intelligence):

  1. Open Google Earth Pro
  2. Find and enter the coordinates of a military base.
  3. Look for corresponding energy infrastructures: substations usually are located within a 10-15 km radius around military bases, transformers, and transmission lines within a 3 km radius. Map all your findings using placemarks in Google Earth Pro.
  4. Cross-reference what you found using open-source data. Look for information about the specific region of interest. You need updates and exact numbers concerning regional networks of smaller scale. Were there any spikes in production? Unreasonably expensive equipment installed? Is the substation supplying too much energy for a 2000-people village? Were there any sabotage cases? The more independent sources you have, the more confident you can be that this is your target.

Example 1: Russian military base in Pereval'ne, Crimea (Base: 44.83933614773036, 34.331007782440665). There is a substation that has been constructed specifically to supply the base with electricity (Substation: 44°50'8.86"N 34°19'14.83"E). Such information can also be confirmed using open-source data like these news publications: or .

Example 2: Russian airbase in Dzhankoi (Airbase: 45°42'15.91"N 34°25'26.07"E), Crimea. It is connected to the two main substations that also supply the city (Substation 1: 45°42'0.80"N 34°22'0.43"E, Substation 2: 45°35'56.31"N 34°32'18.48"E). The substation has been targeted by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which confirms that the Russian military has utilised it on the occupied territories .

Preparation: 2. Protection against electricity

Electricity is safe to work with if you follow these rules:

1. You must determine the type of electric infrastructure and its voltage level in advance. It can be done by looking at the scheme of your regional energy networks—for example, Voronezh: .

Most transformers have voltage markers on them. For example, this substation has a current of 0,4 KV or 400 V. Markings vary depending on the country and region and are to be interpreted for each case individually.

2. You can touch the wires by the insulation braid safely if the electrical currents are 1000 volts and lower. Currents of more than 1000 volts strike at a distance and require special equipment and safety measures.

3. Do not touch the bare wiring if you don't know whether there is a current. There are two ways to check whether the wire has a current. First is to use a clamp meter, and second is to check the main transformer's on/off lever position.

4. Prepare special clothes and instruments. Different precautions must be taken depending on the type of infrastructure and the voltage. When working with lower currents (1000V or less), insulating boots, insulating tools, and clothes of dense material are sufficient. When working with higher currents, one needs insulating gloves, insulated tools (cutting nippers, adjustable wrench, screwdriver), safety boots, a hard hat, safety glasses, and flame-resistant clothing.

Preparation: 3. Protection against police

Electric infrastructure can be attacked at any point of the transmission, giving greater freedom when planning and carrying out the sabotage. Choose the least obvious spot where you will stay concealed. Thoroughly research the area and develop the arrival and retreat routes. Prepare the logistics of special clothes and instruments and the ways to get rid of them when the action is carried out. During the preparations stage, either use the appropriate encryption measures or don't discuss it over the internet at all. During the execution stage, either have a separate mobile phone and get rid of it when done or don't take a mobile phone with you at all. Prepare a backup plan in case something goes wrong.

Types of sabotage depending on your target

In all cases below, you can know if you disrupted the energy supply if the electric hum went silent; you see flashes, sparks, and fire. You can also use a clamp meter to check the presence of a current.

1. Small capacity transformers and control cabinets:

- Switch the transformer off and cut the wires using insulated tools. Most of the transformers and control cabinets have switch on/switch off levers, usually located on the side of the transformer or inside, behind the furnace door. Any significant damage/cut to the wire and cables would turn off the installation. When switched back on, it will not work correctly.

- Pour water on the energised circuit. It will inevitably result in a short circuit and damage the installment. It can result in a short, bright flash, typical for a short circuit. You must use specialised water sprayers called fog nozzle or mist nozzle to avoid water transmitting electricity back to you.

- Set an installment on fire using appropriate flammables.

2. Transmission lines and transmission tower:

- One can initiate a short circuit by throwing a copper wire over the transmission lines. When the wire touches two lines (phases) at the same time, it causes a spark and possibly a major discharge of electricity.

For example, one can attach the wire to a stone and throw it over the lines. Throwing the wire by hand is not recommended, it is vital to ensure that no one touches the wire at the moment of connection. One could use air balloons, drones, self-made catapults, or any other suitable devices to deliver the wire to the lines.

3. Substations

Substation sabotage requires extensive preparation and knowledge when done on the ground, posing the highest risk for those carrying out sabotage on the ground. This does not apply to using a drone equipped with an explosive, which does not pose the same risks for its operator. It is best to learn the capacity and type of substation in advance using open source. Most of the time, the central transformers, which should be your primary target, will have identification markers on them. One can apply the same strategies as for ordinary transformers described above or use any other method that is considered suitable.