Nelson Mail

Residents of bombed but undaunted Kyiv go in search of water

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Residents of Ukraine’s bombed capital clutched empty bottles in search of water and crowded into cafes for power and warmth yesterday, switching defiantly into survival mode after new Russian missile strikes a day earlier plunged the city and much of the country into the dark.

In scenes hard to believe in a sophistica­ted city of 3 million, some Kyiv residents resorted to collecting rainwater from drainpipes, as repair teams laboured to reconnect supplies.

Friends and family members exchanged messages to find out who had electricit­y and water back.

Some had one but not the other. The previous day’s aerial onslaught on Ukraine’s power grid left many with neither.

Cafes in Kyiv that by some small miracle had both quickly became oases of comfort on yesterday.

Oleksiy Rashchupki­n, a 39-year-old investment banker, awoke to find that water had been reconnecte­d to his third-floor flat but power had not. His freezer thawed in the blackout, leaving a puddle on his floor.

So he hopped into a cab and crossed the Dnieper River from left bank to right, to a cafe that he’d noticed had stayed open after previous Russian strikes. Sure enough, it was serving hot drinks, hot food and the music and wi-fi were on.

‘‘I’m here because there is heating, coffee and light,’’ he said. ‘‘Here is life.’’

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said about 70% of the Ukrainian capital was still without power yesterday morning.

As Kyiv and other cities picked themselves up, Kherson came under its heaviest bombardmen­t since Ukrainian forces recaptured the southern city two weeks ago.

The barrage of missiles killed four people outside a coffee shop and a woman was also killed next to her house, witnesses said.

In Kyiv, where cold rain fell on the remnants of previous snowfalls, the mood was grim but steely. The winter promises to be a long one. But Ukrainians say that if Russian President Vladimir Putin’s intention is to break them, he should think again.

‘‘Nobody will compromise their will and principles just for electricit­y,’’ said Alina Dubeiko, 34.

She, too, sought out the comfort of another, equally crowded, warm and lit cafe. Without electricit­y, heating and water at home, she was determined to keep up her work routine. Adapting to life shorn of its usual comforts, Dubeiko said she used two glasses of water to wash, then put her hair in a ponytail and was ready for her working day.

She said she would rather be without power than live with the Russian invasion, which crossed the nine-month mark yesterday.

‘‘Without light or you? Without you,’’ she said, echoing remarks President Volodymyr Zelenskkyy made when Russia on October 10 unleashed the first of what has now become a series of aerial attacks on key Ukrainian infrastruc­ture.

Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenko­v acknowledg­ed yesterday that it targeted Ukrainian energy facilities. But he said they were linked to Ukraine’s military command and control system and that the aim was to disrupt flows of Ukrainian troops, weapons and ammunition to front lines. Authoritie­s for Kyiv and the wider Kyiv region reported a total of seven people killed and dozens of wounded.

Russian UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said: ‘‘We are conducting strikes against infrastruc­ture in response to the unbridled flow of weapons to Ukraine and the reckless appeals of Kyiv to defeat Russia.’’

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also sought to shift blame for civilian hardship on Ukraine’s government.

‘‘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.

 ?? AP ?? People collect water in Kyiv after Russian missile attacks cut power and water to many cities across Ukraine.
AP People collect water in Kyiv after Russian missile attacks cut power and water to many cities across Ukraine.

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