Although the number and duration of power cuts is gradually decreasing, many Ukrainians have had to spend Christmas in the cold and in the dark. According to President Volodymyr Zelensky, nine million Ukrainians were still without power on Monday.
Kherson, a city in eastern Ukraine that was recently recaptured by the Ukrainian army, has also been under fire from Russian forces since the Christmas weekend. At least eleven people were killed and 58 residents were injured in attacks on Saturday, according to the authorities. The city was also hit by Russian attacks in the night from Tuesday to Wednesday: 33 rockets were fired. Ukraine claims civilian targets, but Russia denies targeting civilian targets.
Elsewhere in the country, the air raid alarm also sounds daily due to shelling. Russia has been carrying out attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure almost every day since October. And the residents notice that from the cold in their homes, the faltering tap and the mobile phone that just won’t charge. NRC spoke to four Ukrainians about daily life during shelling and power cuts.
Volodymyr Kochanov (30) resident of Kiev suburb
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“I live in a suburb of Kiev and daily life there certainly differs from that in the center. We have no electricity most of the day. It is available for a few hours a day and in my apartment building, if the electricity goes out, we also have no water supply. Together with some neighbors I collected some money for a generator, but it didn’t work very well.
“So it’s very cold. I slept at home in pants and with my hood over my head. I remember waking up and my head felt really cold. I decided to move to my parent’s house where the situation is a little better. At least they almost always have cold water. The situation is very dependent on the missile strikes. Last Monday we had no power for two whole days.
“I have a car, which is very useful because you are mobile and can go to places where electricity is available. This is how I go to the gym for yoga classes. That is mainly for mindfulness, but they also always have electricity and showers, which is nice if you only have cold water in the house.
“It took about a month to realize that it is war. Hardly anyone worked and everyone was busy surviving. But then we realized we had to keep doing something. Sometimes it is tiring, but you can’t sit and cry, you won’t win a war that way.”
Tanya Kyrylenko (34) resident Chernivtsi
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“You cannot avoid war in everyday life. I just heard the funeral music in the street. Then I don’t close my ears. You hear the air raid siren going off all day long or you hear the news that friends have died. The war is everywhere in my life.
“I was born here in Chernivtsi and my mother still lives here. That’s also why I moved here from Kiev when the war started. It is one of the few quiet places here. Although we constantly hear the air raid siren, it is not as dangerous as in Kharkov or Kherson.
“We do have problems with the electricity and heating, but with a lot of clothing it is manageable. When you walk down the street you hear the sound of those generators all the time. In addition to all the restaurants and shops, I now also see them at normal homes.
“Before the war, my husband and I had our own PR agency and when the war started we lost all our clients. I then got into journalism as a TV host for a local news channel and I did some volunteer work. We now have a number of customers back.
“I try to resume my normal life, otherwise you can go crazy. I try to do my job and be a good manager for my team. And I also keep room for fun, for example by drinking wine with my friends in a bar.”
Yulia Kishchenko (61) inhabitant Kherson
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“The windows of my balcony were destroyed a few weeks ago after a missile hit an adjacent block. We packed our things and within an hour we were ready to leave. I am now staying in Bulgaria and I really hope to return to my home very soon. I was in Kherson from the beginning. Everyone was already surprised that I stayed so long.
“As a lecturer at the university in Kherson, I only taught online. That’s difficult if you don’t have electricity. At one point we lived without electricity for 22 days and therefore without communication. We couldn’t even call our relatives in other cities.
“During the Russian occupation it was like a ghetto. They drove through the streets on their military cars with their guns. And I don’t know why, but they were wearing sunglasses, maybe it was some kind of camouflage. When you walked down the streets and they looked at you through those glasses with their guns at the ready, it was very difficult psychologically.
“We saw a lot of evidence that they tortured people, even children. A grandson of my acquaintance has disappeared and has not been found. No one knows where he is, but we think he was captured by the Russians and then killed or taken away, it’s terrible. I was one of the last to see him leave the house.
“When the Ukrainian army came, we were dancing in the main square. We hugged them, we kissed them and we cooked for them.”
Kateryna Sklyanchenko (29) Kyiv resident
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“The war feels like a rollercoaster. At first I was scared and not sure what to do. I still can’t fully realize that I’m living in war, but I’ve learned not to dwell on it all the time.
“My life is fine compared to my compatriots in the southern and eastern regions. Kiev is not on the front line. Yet rockets are fired every day. Our air defense system works well, but it doesn’t get everything out of the air, which is sometimes exciting.
“I have had no electricity at home for three days now. Only two days ago around 2 am I had electricity for three hours. So I often go to public places such as restaurants, supermarkets and small businesses that have generators for electricity. Today I am working in a restaurant. There I charge all my power banks so that I can use and charge my other digital devices at home.
“Everyone deals with it differently. While my heating still works somewhat, my parents can no longer heat their house at all. My mother told me that it was quite cold in their apartment. The best thing you can do is use lots of clothes and blankets to keep warm.
“There is no problem with the food supply. But after every attack, people panic, and the first thing they do is go to the store. On the days during rocket attacks, there is usually no bread, no water and not even toilet paper.”