Bombed, but not beaten

Ukraine’s capital in survival mode

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.

Oleksiy Rashchupkin, a 39-yearold 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 wifi were on.

Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said about 70 per cent of the Ukrainian capital was still without power yesterday.

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, speaking to Associated Press reporters.

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.

She said she’d rather be without power than live with the Russian invasion, which crossed the ninemonth mark yesterday.

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

Western leaders denounced the bombing campaign. “Strikes against civilian infrastructures are war crimes,” French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted.

Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov acknowledged 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.

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.” AP