They expect a harsh winter

Ukrainians face blackouts with candles and gas stoves

The people of Kyiv are drowning in darkness.

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Under normal circumstances, it would have been a simple purchase or perhaps a time for a picnic, but after surviving three Russian missile attacks on their apartment complex, Alisa Zosimova and her husband rely on their new gas stove, to give them the confidence to face what threatens to be a harsh winter. .

"I'm worried that we won't have light, heating or water, for a week or more," says Alyssa.

The couple had been shopping over the weekend, in the wake of the missile and drone attacks that destroyed a third of Ukraine's energy infrastructure and left more than a million Ukrainian households blacked out.

Another wave of attacks rocked the country, last Saturday morning.

In Kyiv, blackouts of four to five hours have become the new norm, the capital's main streets have been dimmed, and residential side streets remain pitch-dark in anticipation of the full moon.

There are no signs yet that morale is declining, but the attacks have darkened the outlook for the winter.

“Russia aims to destroy the entire energy infrastructure in Ukraine,” said Volodymyr Kudretsky, chairman of the board of directors of Uknergo, the national distributor of electricity. Normal below freezing.

All regions suffer from attacks on energy facilities in one way or another, according to Antonina Atocha, an official at the Ukrainian Energy Corporation.

Five out of six power stations have been hit in the past two weeks, and the death toll of employees since the war began has risen to 94.

Kudretsky asserts that there is no doubt that "their goal is to cut off the electricity completely."

complete destruction

Meanwhile, about 1,000 technicians have been divided into 70 mobile repair teams, working around the clock to restore the power transmission system.

They were aided by European electricity distributors, who donated generators, transformers, and other equipment needed for the repair.

However, Ukraine's energy establishment remains in "urgent need" for equipment of all kinds to generate more power, Atocha warned in an email interview, "There are only two ways to prevent the complete destruction of the energy system, better air defenses or ending the war."

Since the Russian military unleashed massive nationwide air strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure targets on October 10, Washington and other NATO capitals have pledged to ramp up their supplies of air defense hardware.

In Kyiv, a sense of relative safety still prevails, although the sirens are working again.

During the weekend, the stores were crowded with shoppers, who went to buy things needed in an emergency.

“Demand for all of our products has increased dramatically since October 10, when the capital experienced its first 24-hour blackout due to the war,” said Andrey Skoba, a seller at a camping shop in Kyiv. “We have 10 gas stoves, but they were all sold out by end of the day".

He says demand is now 20 to 30 times higher than it was before.

Nor are Scuba's customers, this month, among the usual crowd of outdoor enthusiasts.

Several high-income IT workers were among those buying emergency supplies, in anticipation of a repeat of Saturday.

The demand for camping gas stoves, sleeping bags, and warm clothing, such as thermal underwear and fleece socks, has risen.

"Sales are usually low at this time of the year, because it's a rainy season," Scuba explained. "But our customers now are either civilians who want gas stoves for camping in basements, or soldiers on the front line."

safer

Among the scuba shoppers are married couple Nastya and Vladimir, who moved from the shell-shocked city of Kharkiv to Kyiv, assuming the capital would be safer and easier to operate.

The recent attacks on the capital and the unexpected day-long blackout have undermined their sense of security.

“Hopefully there will be lights tonight, so we can have dinner at home,” says Vladimir, but in case of an emergency, the couple made backup plans for gas-fired meat and porridge for their friends.

“It will definitely be a harsh winter," says Nastya, who works in one of the human resources departments.

There will be more strikes, and they won't stop, but I'm sure we can get through it.

The main thing is to be able to live.”

She added, "It will be difficult."

Elsewhere in Kyiv, Nikolai Ivanovich, a skinny old man with white hair, walks through the shelves of the giant Epicenter, ignoring saws, axes, and other equipment until he finally finds what he's looking for, a wood-burning stove.

He plans to install it in his country house, a simple summer house in the country, where he will spend the winter.

“If there aren't many drones, I'm sure we'll get through the winter," Ivanovic says.

And if necessary, retired men like me will go to fight.”

■ A sense of relative safety still prevails in Kyiv, although the sirens are working again.

Electricity surplus

Electricity supply was not a problem in Ukraine until two weeks ago.

Daily consumption fell by 30% when the Russians started the war in the country, causing millions to flee, and many businesses closing.

Indeed, before the outbreak of the war, Ukraine was exporting its surplus electricity to neighboring European countries.

But consumption is finally rising, as businesses reopen, refugees are returning following a string of battlefield successes in several cities, and autumn heralds a seasonal increase in electricity use.

Prepare for the future

Adding to the difficulties, the Russian military controls the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant and the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant, which have both ceased to contribute to Ukraine's national grid.

With so much damage now done to the remaining power plants and grid facilities, blackouts are inevitable, says Volodymyr Kudretsky, who chairs the board of the Ukrainian Energy Corporation.

At Epcentre, everything from diesel generators to candles was off the shelves by closing Saturday, and the store had sold out all the big generators capable of powering a home, and the smaller ones suitable for lamps.

The store's wholesale manager, Lyudmila Morozyuk, says that Ukrainians "know who the enemy is, and they have to prepare for the future," continuing, "of course, it is uncomfortable, and people are nervous, but they are not broken."

Morozyuk spent six months without water, heating or lighting in her village, in the eastern region of Luhansk, in 2014, when Russia backed Ukrainian separatists' efforts to break away from Kyiv.

And remembering that point, she's worried, because most of her devices need electricity.

"I'm not in a panic," she says, "but I know it's going to be difficult."

feeling angry

Residents in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, told NBC News they were preparing for a shortage by stocking up on candles, portable chargers, diesel generators, gas stoves, even thermal underwear and electric blankets.

Irina Veremenko, who lives in an apartment in Kyiv, said she prepared for a possible power outage last week by charging all her devices the night before and avoiding reheating food.

Ferimenko, 38, said she had turned off all her appliances, and was relying on the gas supply in her apartment to cook or to heat water if necessary.

“I feel more anger than fear,” said the Ukrainian, adding that the strikes on Ukraine's energy systems showed Moscow's desperation, which she said was an additional reason for Ukraine to resist.

The employee in the field of economic analysis explained that she was preparing for a temporary shutdown of the electricity, by storing canned foods, and keeping the portable charger ready at all times, with a small gas stove.

It also has a sleeping bag designed for sub-zero temperatures, a thermal blanket, and even snow clothing, in case temperatures continue to drop and Russian strikes on energy targets continue.

Current forecasts show that mercury in the Ukrainian capital, during the next week, is unlikely to rise above 10 degrees Celsius.

Ukrainian MP and member of the Parliament's Energy Committee, Yuri Kamchuk, told NBC News that Ukrainians are adapting, and even if power outages become frequent, "we know what we're struggling with."

"This is all for true independence and liberation," Kamchuk said.

Workers checking the electrical power supply.

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