The Russian bombing of most of the energy facilities changed their lives.. Thus, the details of the lives of Ukrainians became complicated

Kiev -

Since mid-October, Russia has targeted energy and water facilities more than others. The lives of Ukrainians have been turned upside down, and the repeated bombing has affected the smallest details and customs of living and working, until some axioms have become a form of unattainable luxury.

In order to realize the magnitude of the effects and repercussions, it is sufficient to know that the bombing - according to the Ministry of Energy - destroyed all thermal and hydroelectric power stations in the country, and at least 50% of the other 345 stations, between main and secondary generation and conversion stations.

Millions of people were deprived of electricity, water and heat for long periods, ranging from 8 hours to several days.

Power outages for hours or days isolated many Ukrainians from high-rise buildings in their homes (Al-Jazeera)

Isolation and confinement in homes

In every Ukrainian home today, candles, light bulbs with rechargeable batteries, supplies of drinking water and public use;

Part of the decorations, if you will, and most refrigerators are devoid of any perishable foodstuffs.

Today, every Ukrainian's day begins with a first look, or sensitivity to a sound that proves or denies the presence of electricity in the house. This will determine whether he can drink coffee, eat breakfast, or take a shower before going to work, especially if food preparation and water heating are not connected to electricity. with gas.

This also will determine for many women and grandmothers whether they will remain confined to their homes, or if they will be able to go out for walks with strollers, because the elevators are stopped, and going down the stairs to the high floors is very tiring, and climbing them - even without strollers - is a kind of torment.

This is in addition to the fact that the Internet and communications networks are paralyzed in residential neighborhoods, if the power outage continues for long hours, thus isolating Ukrainians from each other and from the world.

The dependence of many Ukrainians on their own cars caused street congestion in Kyiv (the island)

Crowded transportation and suffocating crises

Going to work is no longer easy for everyone, as relying on electric means of transportation, such as trams, buses and metros, depends on the availability of electricity in all the areas in which you move, and this is not available on a daily basis.

Indeed, the movement of electric transportation stops completely after the first hours of the bombing, and the subway stations, which is the preferred means of transportation for 50% of the population in major cities, are transformed into public and safe shelters more than others.

Therefore, Ukrainians today resort to other traditional means of transportation that are crowded with them, or to rely on their cars and taxis, which causes stifling traffic crises at peak times, especially since many traffic lights do not work.

Pocket flashlights and mobile phones have also become an integral companion for everyone, helping them to walk in the dark and drawing the attention of drivers on pedestrian paths, and avoiding them falling into potholes that they do not see, and slipping due to snow and frozen water on roads and sidewalks.

Shops rely on private generators to continue to operate, which causes daily noise and inconvenience (Al-Jazeera)

Generator noise is "annoyingly familiar"

And during the hours of the day, the noise of generators has become familiar and disturbing at the same time, as many shops, commercial centers, pharmacies, banks, and others have moved towards relying on them, so that their work continues, or they have surrendered and closed the doors of some of their branches in order to save money.

Thus, in the cities of Ukraine, the phenomenon of large-scale closures, or overcrowding on everything elsewhere, has formed, which prompts many to buy (in food stores, for example) in as large quantities as possible, so that they do not search for it again and enter it soon, to the point that The shelves of basic items (bread - oil - flour - water) are quickly emptying.

Basic items such as bread are running out quickly in the shops that kept opening (Al-Jazeera)

Dependence on outside food

And because the idea of ​​​​cooking in homes has come to mean the hardship of buying the necessary materials and bearing the trouble of carrying them up, and it may not be crowned with the opportunity to cook if the power outage continues in the first place, many Ukrainians found a way out in the ready-made food items offered by stores, or in the meals of restaurants and fast food kiosks, so shawarma flourished And hamburger meals at the expense of traditional integrated healthy food.

To gain warmth and charge mobile phones, "steadfastness points", which the authorities have deployed in government and educational buildings and private tents, have become a haven for many Ukrainians, after the pre-war stereotype linked them to the need of the homeless only.

The space for entertainment and pleasure has decreased for Ukrainian families due to the war (Al-Jazeera)

No fun or entertainment

Fun and entertainment are almost completely absent from the lives of Ukrainians. If travel for recreation (in various seasons of the year) was something necessary or even "sacred" for a large segment of them before the war, today it is prohibited in light of the state of war and travel restrictions.

As for exhibitions, theatres, parties, cinemas, sports halls and other entertainment, they are almost non-existent, not to mention that they are forced to close their doors for hours that may be long after each air warning, if any.

In homes, too, there is no room for playing on the computer, watching TV, surfing the Internet and watching videos, except for those who are fortunate enough to have a few hours of access to electricity and the Internet.

"Ukrainians love boxing and football, and the war deprived us of the pleasure of watching the confrontations and the World Cup matches in Qatar as it should," said young Hrihori, a resident of the capital, Kyiv.

A "steadfastness" tent for food and warmth in the outskirts of the capital, Kyiv (Al-Jazeera)

The idea of ​​asylum is renewed

Against the backdrop of all of the above, and many other changes in life in light of the war, the idea of ​​displacement and repeated asylum haunts many in Ukraine, after they decided to return in the middle of the year, or rejected the idea at the beginning of the war.

Although the Prime Minister confirms that the idea of ​​​​return is in the minds of 60% of Ukrainian refugees abroad, the Kyiv Institute for Social Studies indicates that the idea of ​​displacement and asylum is actually in the minds of about 30% of the remaining population, whether to villages to ensure the warmth of the wood stoves at least, or through a wave of New displacement to European countries.

However, many see it as an unrealizable idea, including Mr. Valentine, who told Al Jazeera Net, "Only children and women will leave, of course, because men are forbidden, and for this reason many families reject the idea of ​​separation from each other."

He added, "They want to expel the population or revolt against the authorities, but this will not happen. This crisis will pass, as the battles passed at the beginning of the war, and as the fuel shortage crisis passed in the middle of the year. I think that many Ukrainians believe in this, and realize that enduring the current conditions is definitely better than The consequences of Russia's victory," he said.