How Ukrainians keep warm during bitter winter and power cuts

“I’ve been through several stages, from depression-aggression to acceptance and a degree of irony. It’s not pleasant, but what can you do? There is a war in our country, unfortunately. This is our reality,” said Julia Po, an artist living in Kyiv’s Dniprovskyi neighbourhood, as she showed her seventh-floor home to Luke Harding, the Guardian’s senior international correspondent. Subscribe ► https://www.youtube.com/user/theguardian?sub_confirmation=1 She led the way with a torch up a dark staircase – with no electricity, the lights and lift do not work; frozen water pipes burst two weeks ago, causing a flood; a chill wind whipped through slatted panels. “The building dates from the 70s and the Soviet era. It’s badly designed and can’t cope,” she said. Po had insulated her front door with bubble wrap to reduce drafts. Walls, windows and a ficus house plant had also been wrapped. She sleeps under two blankets, wearing thermal underwear and a hoodie. “Underneath, from the ground, it’s just cold. When you wake up in the morning you can feel your kidneys. My electric kettle cracked. I didn’t wash my hair for two weeks,” she said. Her cat, named after the Radiohead singer Thom Yorke, sleeps under a blanket in a cupboard. Po, originally from Russian-occupied Crimea, said she felt she had been dispossessed: “It’s as if someone has stolen my home.” There are 2,600 buildings in the Ukrainian capital now without power or heating. The Kremlin has been bombing the country’s energy infrastructure since the start of its full-scale invasion nearly four years ago, targeting substations, thermal power plants and rescue workers battling to save the electricity network from multiple attacks. In recent weeks Russia has overwhelmed Kyiv’s air defences and inflicted further damage, coinciding with one of the coldest, most bitter winters for decades. There have been frequent capital-wide blackouts restricting electricity supply to three or four hours a day. To read more about the residents who have used ingenious hacks to try to make their homes a bit warmer follow the link ► https://ift.tt/yFbv1YM #ukraine #ukrainewar #ukrainewinter #winterweather #winter #freezing

Ukrainian families wait for prisoners of war released from Russia: 'We won't stop'

Watch the full video ► https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UH8ouQh0e6Q “My brother disappeared. We think he’s been taken prisoner. We’re waiting for him here today,” said one relative waiting for Ukrainian prisoners of war to arrive in Chernihiv, Ukraine. Subscribe to The Guardian on YouTube ► https://www.youtube.com/user/theguardian?sub_confirmation=1 Holding photos of their loved ones, families gathered to see if they would be reunited in the exchange. 157 Ukrainian prisoners of war were reunited with their families on 5 February. It is one of the few tangible outcomes from US-brokered peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. About 80,000 Ukrainians have been reported missing since the war began, most of them lost on the frontline or captured. The Guardian filmed the prisoner release in the north of the country; each exchange bringing hope and heartbreak to families still searching for news of their loved ones. Those still waiting held up photographs hoping the returned soldiers might have seen their missing relatives. #ukraine #russia #ukraineprisonerexchange #ukrainepows #ukrainewar

How pilates is bringing older men together at a mosque in Bradford

From squats to glute bridges and the butterfly stretch - every Thursday after midday prayers a group of mostly 50- to 80-year-old men take part in a 45-minute pilates class at a mosque in West Yorkshire. Subscribe ► https://www.youtube.com/user/theguardian?sub_confirmation=1 “I think sometimes people are isolated and mosque is a safe environment for them,” says Zafar Kayani, 69, the pilates instructor. “They’re coming here for their spiritual health. Then getting that physical exercise and mental wellbeing, and they’re connecting with each other,” adds Kayani – with attenders saying they feel the benefit. After a TikTok video they posted advertising the classes at Jamia Usmania mosque in Bradford went viral – to the surprise of organisers – they have had interest from mosques across the UK and farther afield, including from Malaysia and Canada, with inquiries on how similar initiatives could be implemented for their congregation. Kayani believes that the physical and mental health benefits of the classes will have a positive impact on public health and the NHS. According to government health data on physical activity published in 2024, men from Asian (59.6%) and “other” (60%) ethnic groups are less likely to be active than the overall average (65.6%). Jamia Usmania’s general secretary, Mohammed Ilyas, says he wants to make the mosque “a community hub where people can join in other activities, which were provided by the council 20 years ago but are nonexistent now”. He adds: “Make it as accessible as possible, not just for the elders, for the young generation as well, make the mosque welcoming.” Read the full story via the link ► https://ift.tt/7akLzEw #bradford #pilates #islam #muslims #mosque

A 'disturbing' lack of empathy in Minneapolis under Trump's ICE surge

After the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good by ICE agents in Minneapolis, the Guardian’s Oliver Laughland travelled to Carlton county, Minnesota – one of the state’s counties that voted for Trump in 2024. Subscribe ► https://www.youtube.com/user/theguardian?sub_confirmation=1 For the latest episode of Anywhere but Washington, Laughland met with Brad Kohler, a Republican candidate running for Minnesota governor, and Republican voters. Laughland confronted Kohler on racist comments about Somali immigrants in Minnesota, and spoke with him and other voters about the killing of Renee Good. This episode was filmed before Alex Pretti was shot and killed by federal agents on 24 January. The occupation of Minneapolis: resisting Trump’s ICE 'invasion' | Anywhere but Washington ► https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFBvYve92_M #minneapolis #minnesota #ice #donaldtrump #trump #reneenicolegood #reneegood #iceshooting #usa #trump #donaldtrump

Minneapolis resident violently arrested by ICE: 'Their goal is to intimidate you'

In the aftermath of the killing of Renee Good, Patty O’Keefe became one of thousands of citizen observers patrolling Minneapolis to track ICE activities. Subscribe ► https://www.youtube.com/user/theguardian?sub_confirmation=1 Just days after Good’s killing, O’Keefe told Guardian reporter Oliver Laughland about her experience of being arrested and detained by ICE. Laughland travelled to Minneapolis for the latest episode of Anywhere But Washington to speak with community members like O’Keefe and better understand their fight to defend their neighbors from violence and intimidation by ICE. Follow the link to watch the episode in full ► https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFBvYve92_M #ice #minnesota #minneapolis #trump #donaldtrump #reneegood #reneenicolegood #iceshooting

This photographer was tackled by ICE – and threw his camera to save it

'It’s important to see what’s going on – what’s really going on”. Subscribe ► https://www.youtube.com/user/theguardian?sub_confirmation=1 That’s what Pierre Lavie said after fellow photographer John Abernathy was taken down by federal agents at a protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Minneapolis, Minnesota on 15 January. John Abernathy says he couldn’t breathe after being pushed to the floor and having tear gas canisters deployed near him, and that he was afraid of what would happen to his camera – and more importantly the images on it – if he were arrested. He decided to throw his camera and phone towards a photographer he had never met before – Pierre Lavie – because the images of the protests “deserve to be seen”. The Department of Homeland Security told CNN Abernathy had been arrested for obstructing pedestrian and vehicle traffic on federal property. Abernathy says he spotted what he believed to be “far-right agitators” holding bear spray canisters, which he grabbed from one of them and threw away. When he was taken down, Abernathy says officers told him that it was because he had “bear sprayed his [own] people”, and that they had a video – which they refused to show him. Abernathy, who suffered chemical burns in his eyes and wounds from pepper bullets, is aware his experience could have been a lot worse. “I didn't have any worry of being sent to another country.” The Minneapolis-based photographer has covered protests in the past, including Black Lives Matter in 2020. But he says the violence from government agents recently is “a different type of aggression”, like nothing he has seen there before. Protests have sprung up in Minneapolis after an ICE surge in the state, and have grown further since the killing of Renee Good, an unarmed woman shot by a federal immigration officer in Minneapolis earlier this month. “A lot of people are very fearful, but the community here is quite amazing,” says Abernathy. A “no work, no school, no shopping” blackout day of protest was kicked off by community leaders, faith leaders and labor unions on Friday, whose demands include that ICE leave Minnesota and the officer who killed Good be legally held accountable. Find out more via the link ► https://ift.tt/cKxuSJz #ice #minnesota #minneapolis #iceraids #iceagents #media #press

The lost their homes in the LA wildfires – now they're fighting climate gentrification

Within two days of Ellen Williams and her family losing their four homes in the LA megafires, real estate investors began calling. But she is fighting back against climate gentrification. Subscribe ► https://www.youtube.com/user/theguardian?sub_confirmation=1 As investors swoop in and try to pick up severely damaged properties across areas devastated by last year’s fires, Williams is resisting their offers and sticking to her family’s plan to return to Altadena. But she knows that other longtime residents can’t withstand the financial pressure that threatens to reshape her hometown. Her message to the investors is clear: “How dare you? Within days of people losing their homes you want to give them an offer,” she told the Guardian. “We’re still processing, yet you want to put a value on land.” #lawildfires #lafires #losangeles #altadena #usa #climategentrification #climatecrisis #black #latino