Thousands of high-rise buildings have been without power for some time after Russian attacks on energy infrastructure in Ukrainian cities. In total, millions of Ukrainians have been affected by power outages while the winter cold has a firm grip on the country. Temperatures have been well below freezing for several weeks and Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko has urged residents who can to leave the capital.
Nina Kalashnik and her son put on extra clothes and slept close together to stay warm as the temperature in their apartment dropped following recent Russian attacks on Kyiv.
They spent a few days at her parents' house, where there is a generator and a makeshift kitchen. The family has since returned home to Kyiv, where the phone is not working, but she sends chat messages about the situation to TT when she can.
Three degrees plus indoors
Nina is well aware that others are much colder at home.
"In our apartment, the situation hasn't been the worst, and some people near me have lived in apartments with temperatures above three degrees Celsius," she writes.
“In my area, there are still buildings without heat and electricity, and there are overloads on the lines that actually work,” she writes.
Many others have also left the city. One of Nina's colleagues has made her way to the Vinnytsia region, and neighbors are calling to ask about the situation, whether it's possible to return home.
It's the coldest winter in years, and the cold doesn't seem to be letting up anytime soon. At the start of the week, temperatures are expected to drop significantly again, below minus ten degrees Celsius during the day and below minus twenty at night.
A few hours of power
The power companies are working around the clock to repair the grid, but the power supply is damaged again by new attacks. When the power comes back, it often only lasts for a few hours, which may be enough to provide some heat to homes and charge a few appliances.
"When you wake up you can see your breath. It's not safe here in these conditions," a man in a completely frozen apartment told the BBC .
It's two degrees above zero in the apartment where he lives with his wife and children, but they've moved out. The water pipes have frozen and he's lighting the gas stove with a brick on it to get some heat in the kitchen. He's tried to insulate the windows with bubble wrap.
You can freeze to death, no matter how many layers of clothing you put on.
