It is below zero outside, and heating and electricity supplies have been cut off due to the destruction caused by the Russian attacks. How do people in Kiev live under these conditions?
Winter in Ukraine is in full swing. The average daily temperature in Kiev is between -8 and -17 degrees. Due to the seriously damaged energy infrastructure after the massive Russian attacks in the capital and its suburbs, the situation is dire: a strict schedule for power outages is in effect, 400 apartment blocks are without heating, and in some places there is no water.
The government adopts anti-crisis measures and rebukes local authorities
"We have schedules with three to four hours of electricity and nine to ten hours of no electricity on the left bank of the Dnieper. In other areas, it is not much different - five hours of electricity and five without", said the Prime Minister of Ukraine Yulia Sviridenko from the rostrum of the Verkhovna Rada, who was supposed to present the situation. She promised an improvement in a few days, but only if there is no repeated shelling.
The government criticizes the fact that the Ukrainian capital was not well prepared for the challenges of the heating season during wartime. "Kharkov was prepared, they have mobile boilers, generators. In Kiev, the preparations were much weaker, I can even say that they were not prepared at all, which is why anti-crisis measures now need to be taken. This is the focus of the attention of the President of Ukraine and the Prime Minister," said the newly appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy Denys Shmygal.
The mayor called on Kiev residents to leave the city, but they are staying
After the Russian attack on the night of January 9, the mayor of Kiev Vitali Klitschko called on the residents of the Ukrainian capital to leave the city temporarily if possible due to the situation with electricity, heat and water supply.
However, most of them remained in the city, since the situation in the suburbs is even worse - in some places people are without electricity for five days. "I chose to stay in the city, realizing all the risks. The village is far from the best solution for me," writes Kiev resident Yulia Detkova on Facebook.
"I work at a school where there is gas heating and a generator. Children continue to come to classes and I cannot leave Kiev, although I have a house in the country. We have also prepared at home - I have a powerful charging station that lights up the entire apartment and we can make tea or cook. We are much better off now than during the 2022 blackout," teacher Svetlana told DW.
Kiev residents warm themselves with thick clothes, heaters and biofireplaces
On Wednesday, January 14, Mayor Vitali Klitschko announced that the situation with the provision of electricity and heating in Kiev remains complicated - on a scale unprecedented in these four years of war. However, Kiev residents are gritting their teeth and willingly sharing their "recipes for survival" in the cold without light and heat on social networks.
"For the fifth day in a row, the temperature in my apartment is 13-14 degrees. That's why I put on several layers of clothes - like an onion. And how are you doing? How are you surviving after these Russian attacks?", wrote human rights activist Tetyana Pechonchik on Facebook. And people were not slow to share their experiences.
"We already have heating, but we didn't have electricity for three days - we now have it at night. The bad thing is that we can't turn on the water heater, since it's 1.5 kilowatts and everything could collapse. But for now, it's not that scary," commented a user named Hana Hrytsenko.
"My recipe is thick pajamas and a down blanket. Next week I will bring my fireplace on biofuel. It is small, but still warm", says user Victoria Babiy.
The famous Kiev blogger Anna Neplyakh has completely changed her regime. “In Kiev, I have neither heating nor light. At home it is ten degrees, which is why I try to fill my day with meetings and being outside the house. I sleep dressed, I wrap my head", she writes on Instagram.
Some say that they pitch tents in the middle of their homes and spend the night in them to keep warm.
Mobile points of resilience
The State Emergency Service has installed 47 tents in the city, which have constant electricity. It is warm there and light is provided by generators, i.e. you can charge your mobile devices, warm yourself with a cup of tea, access the internet for distance learning or work. So far, over 9,000 Kievans have used these tents.
There are also kiosks in large supermarkets in Kiev where you can charge your phone and eat for free, but the food there is not free. People in particularly difficult circumstances are given free food at train stations.