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