Dark, freezing and depressed: More than a million Ukrainians struggling without heat or water after Russian attacks
As Ukraine is gripped by a bitter cold snap, more than one million people have been left without heating and electricity as Russia ramps up attacks on energy infrastructure.
Elderly residents and those with vulnerable family members told The Independent they are cold and unable to cook proper meals as they face temperatures as low as -15C.
Despondent and fearing death, many are struggling through the winter as blackouts plunge Ukraine’s cities into darkness, lit up only by the bright flash of Russian drone and missile attacks.
“It gives you depression,” 33-year-old Dnipro resident Kyril Tulenev says. “You cannot do anything. You cannot check the news. You cannot properly use your things. Sometimes you cannot call anyone because there is no connection.”
Hundreds of thousands were left without electricity and heating across large swathes of Ukraine’s central and southeastern Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia regions on Thursday.
On Friday, an attack on Kyiv left 500,000 without power, with mayor Vitali Klitschko calling for people to temporarily evacuate with temperatures set to plummet.
Kyril paints an even bleaker picture of life outside the home. Petrol stations freeze over, the streets are lifeless, and traffic lights no longer function.
The family of Kyril’s girlfriend – including an uncle with disabilities and an elderly grandfather – are struggling. Unlike Kyril, who lives in an apartment, the family lives in an ageing house, riddled with cracks and exposed to freezing weather.
“The uncle cannot move by himself, so they need to take care for him. They need to bring him to the toilet. They need to do the bath for him. When there is no electricity, you don’t have water, and it’s kind of difficult for them to take care for him,” he says.
Residents are also struggling without access to a fridge to keep food fresh, running water due to very low pressure, and wifi to allow them to contact family. The family of Kyril’s girlfriend owns an electric oven; when power is down, they cannot cook themselves a proper meal.
Kyril says Ukrainians fear the cold snap currently gripping large parts of Ukraine. The power plants, Kyril explains, restrict their output when it is very cold – when Ukrainians need electricity the most – because of the added pressures cold weather puts on energy facilities.
One elderly grandmother, who did not wish to be named, told The Independent that, having been born during the Second World War, she thought she had survived the worst.
Wrapped up in bed, staring at the ceiling with a candle lit on her bedside table, she says she can’t believe there is a war between groups of people who stood shoulder to shoulder to fight the Nazis.
Several Ukrainian organisations, such as Rozvitok Mista in Kryvyi Rih, are supporting vulnerable and elderly people through the blackouts, visiting those who don’t have people to care for them.
