Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Bonfires, dancing, pets: How Ukrainians are staying warm during the
toughest winter in years
What is it like to live in sub-zero temperatures without heating or
electricity? Even though most buildings are cold-resistant and people are used
to enduring cold winters in Ukraine, life without heating and electricity is
hardly bearable. This winter, Kyiv residents have been exposed to the harshest
winter in two decades, with outside temperatures dropping as low as -19 degrees
Celsius. As Russian strikes on civilian infrastructures intensify, Kyiv’s
centralized district heating system and power supply have been interrupted or
intermittent at best. When the room temperatures have gone down to 10 degrees, it’s
just too cold to stay there, so many residents gather around bonfires or spend
time in government-run help points to get warmed up, but just temporarily. To
cope with such conditions, residents are now equipped with temporary relief
tools, such as power banks, flameless electric candles, and electric blankets. It
was March 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, and it was February 2022
when Russia started invading Ukraine. People in Ukraine haven’t enjoyed normal,
peaceful lives for nearly six years, but they’ve become more resilient to
difficulties, like during and after the last world war.
Read the article and learn how harsh this winter is for Ukrainians.
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