Despite being bombed, Kyiv has gone into survival mode.
Residents of Kyiv, the bombed capital of Ukraine, clutched empty bottles in search of water and huddled in cafés for warmth and power Thursday, switching into survival mode after new Russian missile strikes the day before plunged the city and much of the country into the dark.
It’s hard to believe, but some Kyiv residents collected rainwater from drainpipes as repair teams worked to reconnect water supplies to the city of 3 million.
People wanted to find out who had electricity and water backup after the previous day’s aerial assault on Ukraine’s power grid left many with neither. Some had one but not the other.
Ukrainians Share Their Experiences
Despite restoring water to his third-floor flat, investment banker Oleksiy Rashchupkin discovered that power had yet to be reconnected. In addition, his freezer leaked, leaving a puddle on the floor due to the blackout.
He spotted that a café on the right bank of the Dnipro River had remained open after previous Russian airstrikes, and he hopped into a taxi to cross the river and visit it. The café was open and served hot food, drinks, music, and Wi-Fi.
“I’m here because there is heating, coffee and light,” he said. “Here is life.”
Thanks to some small miracles, cafés in Kyiv became oases of comfort on Thursday. However, it is apparent how this is affecting people’s lives.
Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv, said that 70% of the city remained without power on Thursday morning.
Despite being bombed, Kyiv has gone into survival mode.
Residents of Kyiv, the bombed capital of Ukraine, clutched empty bottles in search of water and huddled in cafés for warmth and power Thursday, switching into survival mode after new Russian missile strikes the day before plunged the city and much of the country into the dark.
It’s hard to believe, but some Kyiv residents collected rainwater from drainpipes as repair teams worked to reconnect water supplies to the city of 3 million.
People wanted to find out who had electricity and water backup after the previous day’s aerial assault on Ukraine’s power grid left many with neither. Some had one but not the other.
Ukrainians Share Their Experiences
Despite restoring water to his third-floor flat, investment banker Oleksiy Rashchupkin discovered that power had yet to be reconnected. In addition, his freezer leaked, leaving a puddle on the floor due to the blackout.
He spotted that a café on the right bank of the Dnipro River had remained open after previous Russian airstrikes, and he hopped into a taxi to cross the river and visit it. The café was open and served hot food, drinks, music, and Wi-Fi.
“I’m here because there is heating, coffee and light,” he said. “Here is life.”
Thanks to some small miracles, cafés in Kyiv became oases of comfort on Thursday. However, it is apparent how this is affecting people’s lives.
Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv, said that 70% of the city remained without power on Thursday morning.
The heaviest bombardment since Ukrainian forces recaptured the southern city of Kherson two weeks ago hit the city on Thursday, killing four people outside a coffee shop and a woman near her house, witnesses told Associated Press.
Winter is approaching, and the mood in Kyiv is grim but determined. Despite the cold rain that fell on the remains of previous snowfalls, Ukrainians are determined to persevere. If Vladimir Putin’s goal is to defeat them, Ukrainians are basically telling him, he should reconsider.
According to Alina Dubeiko, 34, no one will give up their values or will to get electricity. So she also sought refuge in a similarly packed, warm, and well-lit café. Because she required water and heat at home to keep up with her work, she was determined to do without them. Despite her usual comforts being absent, Dubeiko says she washes her hair in two glasses of water, then puts her hair in a ponytail before heading to work.
Living with the Russian invasion crossed the nine-month mark on Thursday, she said she would rather be without power.
President Volodymyr Zelensky’s statement that ‘without light, or you?’ has recently been echoed by Inna Bohoslovska, as Russia has intensified its aerial attacks on critical Ukrainian infrastructure.
Western leaders condemned the bombing raid. “Strikes against civilian infrastructure are war crimes,” French President Emmanuel Macron said in a tweet.
Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov admitted Thursday that Russian forces targeted Ukrainian energy facilities. However, he said they were connected to Ukraine’s military command and control system and that the aim was to disrupt the flow of Ukrainian troops, weapons, and ammo to the front lines. As a result, Kyiv and the surrounding area suffered 7 fatalities and many injuries.
Vassily Nebenzia, the Russian U.N. ambassador, said: “We are striking infrastructure in response to the unchecked flow of weapons to Ukraine and Kyiv’s reckless calls for Russia’s demise.”
On the other hand, Russia’s showing no signs of backing down despite reports saying that Putin has gone into hiding.
Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesperson, tried to shift responsibility for civilian suffering to Ukraine’s government.
According to Peskov, Ukraine’s leadership has every chance to return the situation to normal, meet Russian demands, and they should be responsible for the lives lost during this war.
“Ukraine’s leadership has every opportunity to bring the situation back to normal, has every opportunity to resolve the situation in such a way as to meet the demands of the Russian side and, accordingly, end all possible suffering of the civilian population,” Peskov said.
Thriving Amids Extreme Conditions
Ukrainians had to wait in line at public water points to fill plastic bottles in Kyiv. Health Department employee Kateryna Luchkina said she collected rainwater from a drainpipe to wash her hands at work, which generally had no water, in a strange wartime first for her. She waited patiently for her two plastic bottles to fill with water, which rained down on her. Her colleague was close behind, doing the same thing.
Though faced with highly uncomfortable situations, Luchkina expresses her confidence in the Ukrainian people’s ability to think of a solution for the current situation. She said they would still survive even if the Ukrainian people had no food or electricity. They will keep moving forward as if everything is fine.
According to Klitschko, water repair teams were making progress early afternoon when he announced that water supplies had been restored across the capital, except that “some consumers may still experience low water pressure.”
Governor of Ukraine’s southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region, Vadim Pavlu, recently reported that 3,000 miners trapped underground because of power blackouts have been rescued. Regional authorities posted messages updating people on the status of repairs on social media but also requested more time.
Still, authorities continue to provide hot meals, electricity, and internet connections at thousands of “points of invincibility”—heated and powered spaces—to help people cope with the current hardships and future challenges as winter progresses. More than 3,700 of these spaces were open across the country as of Thursday morning, according to Kyrylo Tymoshenko, a senior official in the presidential office.
Hospitals in Kherson are also dealing with horrific after-effects of intensified Russian strikes, which hit residential and commercial buildings on Thursday. Some infrastructures were set on fire, sending ash flying through the air and breaking glass across the streets.
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