KHARKIV, UKRAINE (Archyde.com) – Olga Kobzar, 70, is living alone in Kharkiv, Ukraine, where she survives the upcoming harsh winter in a room in an apartment complex that has been left in ruins following being shelled by Russian troops. I am trying to do. Her home has no electricity, running water, or central heating, so she heats herself on the gas stove in the kitchen.
Kobzar lives in the Saltyuka district, regarding 30 kilometers from the Russian border. Winter temperatures can drop to minus 20 degrees Celsius, with officials warning it will be the harshest in decades.
Mr. Kobzar is the only one left in the housing complex. Neighboring homes were bombarded and engulfed in flames. Although she escaped damage to her home, her basic lifeline was lost.
“I can’t believe I’m leaving here,” said Kobzar, looking at a shelf of old books and a portrait of her husband. She trusts her late husband to keep her safe.
Seven months of war in Ukraine have wreaked havoc on energy grids and residential areas. Officials fear Russia will target critical infrastructure ahead of winter. It is asking citizens to stockpile everything from firewood to generators.
“There is nothing we can do. It all depends on where the missile hits and what it destroys. The invaders want us to have a cold, dark winter,” said Terekhov, mayor of Kharkiv.
Urban residential areas are equipped with central heating from natural gas-fired power plants. But in apartment complexes where windows and walls have been destroyed, pipes can freeze, damaging the area’s central heating system.
50,000 buildings and homes were damaged in the Russian invasion, and 350 of the country’s thousands of heating installations, including large ones, were damaged, officials said on Monday. .
Just a few blocks from Mr. Kobzar’s home, priest Vyacheslav Koyun helps an elderly neighbor close a broken window so they can use the heating.
“People were worried and most of the residents left. There are only regarding five people living in one block. Most of them are pensioners. We mightn’t leave pensioners to move. That’s not right.” and Ko Yun.
Many citizens purchased electric heaters because they might rely on electricity if the central heating failed. But experts say the mass use of electric heaters might strain power supplies.
The Department of Energy has refrained from releasing detailed data on the state of infrastructure, citing wartime conditions. Probably to avoid panic. But officials issued a rare statement on Thursday regarding infrastructure damage, saying two substations in the south were “totally destroyed” by Russian attacks in late September.
Last week, parts of Kharkov were plunged into darkness for hours following Russian missiles hit a power plant. This happened at least twice in the last month alone.
“The damage that has been done to the energy grid so far is enormous,” Energy Minister Harshchenko said in an interview with Archyde.com last month.
Even in the western city of Lviv, largely untouched by the ravages of war, the mayor is urging citizens to stockpile firewood in case of chaos.
Ukraine, which stopped gas purchases from Russia in 2015 and now buys from European countries, stores natural gas at facilities in the west.
Analysts say Ukraine will find it difficult to maintain pressure on its natural gas pipelines and supply gas to all regions if Russia, which has escalated its conflict with the West, halts natural gas shipments through Ukraine. there is a risk of becoming
Kharina Sachenko, 76, who lives on the outskirts of Kyiv, is worried regarding getting gas. The region has not been hit by missiles in recent months.
“I bought firewood, but it’s not enough for long-term use. In the early 1990s, we used to burn coal, but nowadays we can’t even buy coal,” Sachenko said.
Kobzar, who lives in Kharkiv, has bigger worries than the cold. “If it gets frosty and cold, I can stay with someone. The most important thing is that my son is healthy and that he comes back alive. Other than that, I don’t need anything else.”
(Reporter by Tom Balmforth, Reporter by Pavel Polityuk)
