"But we are lucky. For many in Kyiv, this winter's heat and electricity blackouts last for days. The fourth winter of Russia's war on Ukraine has been the most brutal in recent times, and the Russians have weaponized this by repeatedly attacking Ukraine's energy grid. Candles are now a last option for light when emergency power sources fail. They also hint at loss."
""February ... is sobbing," the Ukrainian poet Iya Kiva wrote of the "damned winter" in 2022, when Russia's full-scale invasion began, "and the candle drips on the table, burning and burning." Ukrainians say they will survive this phase of Russia's war too. They sleep with their coats on, sometimes under piles of blankets, swaddle their babies in insulated layers warmed by hot water bottles, and gather their families to cook borsch on portable campfire stoves."
Repeated Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy grid have made the fourth winter of the war particularly brutal, producing prolonged heat and electricity blackouts across Kyiv and other regions. Homes and bureaus have been plunged into frigid darkness during days-long outages, leaving candles as a last light when emergency power fails. Families sleep in coats and layered blankets, swaddle infants in insulated clothing warmed by hot water bottles, and cook borsch on portable campfire stoves to keep warm. Temperatures have dropped to about -21°C (6°F) during some strikes, creating dangerous conditions. Despite the material hardship and symbolic losses, Ukrainians express determination to survive this phase.
Read at www.npr.org
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