'We're not going anywhere': How Kyiv residents survive freezing winter without heating

Key points:

• The entire Troieshchyna district is without heating. People are heating their homes with heaters or air conditioners when the power is turned on.
• Even when the power is not cut off, accidents occur in homes. Often, residents call electricians at their own expense.
• The Desnianskyi district state administration is ready to dig street toilets. The residents of Troieshchyna themselves have mixed feelings about this.
• It is often difficult to reach the 1551 call center and DTEK Energy Company. The police also accept requests.
• Despite the difficulties, many do not want to leave Kyiv.

Heating is the main problem

During the day, there are not many people near the tent city on Beretti Street. Police officers and State Emergency Service employees are on duty at the entrance to the tents. There is a stove nearby and firewood lying around. Six tents have been set up here, each accommodating about 40 people. Inside the warming centers, it is mainly women with children and elderly people who charge their phones.

From posts on social media, one might get the impression that there are literally no amenities left in Troieshchyna. But when talking to people, it becomes clear that electricity is sometimes provided. Some people have it for a few hours, others for longer. But the main problem in Troieshchyna is not the power cuts, but the total lack of heat in the apartments.

There may be a little more light, and this is at least some attempt to compensate for the lack of heating in the houses. The head of the Desnianskyi district state administration, Maksym Bakhmatov, recently spoke about this. After one of the latest Russian strikes on the thermal power plant, there is no heating, and the head of the district administration himself admits in an interview with RBC-Ukraine: "I don't know when the heat will be restored in Troieshchyna. No one can say."

Two tent cities have been set up in Troieshchyna, where people can warm up, eat, and charge their gadgets (photo: RBC-Ukraine)

Two tent cities have been set up in Troieshchyna, where people can warm up, eat, and charge their gadgets (photo: RBC-Ukraine)

Two tent cities have been set up in Troieshchyna, where people can warm up, eat, and charge their gadgets (photo: RBC-Ukraine)

Two tent cities have been set up in Troieshchyna, where people can warm up, eat, and charge their gadgets (photo: RBC-Ukraine)

Two tent cities have been set up in Troieshchyna, where people can warm up, eat, and charge their gadgets (photo: RBC-Ukraine)

In addition, he says, no one knows what is happening at the combined heat and power plant 6 right now because it is a restricted facility. This thermal power plant is the newest in Kyiv, but the problem is that it is the only one for the Desnianskyi district, and after the destruction, there is simply nowhere to get heat for the entire huge district.

If the situation worsens even more and there is no water for a long time, another threat may arise: freezing of the water supply and sewage pipes. In such a case, the district administration proposes digging street toilets.

72-year-old pensioner Ivan Oleksandrovych has been without heating for four days.

"It's been four days now. I think so. Maybe three, I've already forgotten," he says, waiting for the State Emergency Service workers to bring him food.

Ivan's electricity has not been turned off for a couple of days, which is literally a rarity for Troieshchyna and even other districts of Kyiv.

"I have time to charge my cell phone and call my daughter. There is no one else to call. All my friends have already passed away," he says.

Ivan Oleksandrovych's daughter has been living and working in Germany for over three years. There is no one to help him. Sometimes a neighbor comes over to cook some food. But he doesn't complain much and tries to do all the housework himself.

Ivan Oleksandrovych has not had heating at home for a long time (photo: RBC-Ukraine)

The man apologizes and says he is going to eat. An employee of the State Emergency Service has just brought him a hot lunch. Today it's buckwheat, a large sausage, sauerkraut, and bread.

Finally, he says he has no complaints about the authorities. "I have complaints about Putin. No one else." And when asked how he feels about the possible installation of outdoor toilets, he says unequivocally: "If we need to, we will."

Residents hired an electrician themselves

In addition to hot meals, which are distributed to people in tents, tea, coffee, several types of cookies, and marshmallows are freely available nearby.

"Tea, sunshine?" a woman in an emergency services uniform smiles at the boy. "No, I'll have marshmallows."

Nearby, there is a corner with coloring books, markers, and books. A State Emergency Service psychologist sits down at a table, and the children gather around. The psychologist opens a book and shows them pictures, then asks the children questions. They respond actively. It's like a lesson in kindergarten.

State Emergency Service employees work with children (photo: RBC-Ukraine)

Maryna, a resident of Kyiv, sits with her phone on one of the benches in the warming center, while her younger daughter plays nearby in the children's corner. The family lives in Troieshchyna in a building on Reagan Street. It is a 16-story building that has been without electricity for more than five days. According to the woman, neither DTEK nor the local housing office responded to residents' complaints and requests.

"The residents pooled their money, hired a private electrician, and repaired the blown fuses. It was an accident in the building itself. It cost about 3,000 hryvnia," the woman says.

Since then, the building has had electricity. But, of course, it is turned off for many hours.

"Our house has no gas supply and runs entirely on electricity. We don't have heating right now. We only heat with convectors, air conditioners, and heaters. Of course, when there is electricity. I bought rubber hot water bottles at the pharmacy. That's how we keep warm,” she says.

Marina lives with her children on the 10th floor. The children are not attending school because schools in Kyiv have been closed for an additional vacation until February 1. The woman thinks that some schools may not reopen even after the 1st.

"This station is located near School 249. My daughter attends school 263, and there is a large heating station there with sleeping places. Everything is set up for this, and it looks like not all schools will go offline," she says.

She adds that she is more concerned about the situation with her other child. Her older daughter is currently finishing 11th grade and has to prepare for theNational Multi-subject Test, but with these forced vacations, there is virtually no preparation taking place.

"The problem is that there is no preparation. There are no lessons, nothing. Now the children have a month of vacation. How are they supposed to take the NMT? I can't imagine. My daughter draws, wants to study graphic design, and is preparing her portfolio. But she still has to take the NMT," the woman worries.

Maryna goes to a warming center to charge her phone (photo: RBC-Ukraine)

"We'll survive. Without electricity, without heating. But without them"

Olena Sokolovska, who is charging her phone, lives nearby. Her house at 41/1 Chervonoyi Kaliny Avenue has been without heating for a long time, and the day before, the power was cut off due to a phase failure.

"We called all the services, but nothing has changed," she says. "DTEK didn't do anything until we called the police. Because the police also accept such reports. And things have moved forward a little, but they haven't connected us yet. We'll see how it goes. I have a child with a disability, and when there is no heating, but there is light, he reacts normally. But when there is neither, it's a disaster."

Olena Sokolovska complains about the lack of light to all possible authorities (photo: RBC-Ukraine)

In peacetime, 12 emergency crews are working in Kyiv. Now there are 60, Yasno CEO Serhii Kovalenko told RBC-Ukraine. They all work around the clock, and the workload on employees is enormous.

"We understand that it is technically impossible to understand and process all requests. It turns out that about 60-70% of requests are not the cases they were sent for," Kovalenko notes. It is better if requests are sent by the heads of housing cooperatives and housing maintenance offices: these are considered a priority.

Olena Sokolovska admits that she understands that the situation is difficult everywhere, but the services are not responding to requests, and she has not seen any attempts to alleviate the situation in her particular building.

"No services can be reached by phone. Neither 1551 (Kyiv City Contact Center – ed.) nor our call center. DTEK – they don't even pick up the phone. I called 112 this morning and left a request. Then they told me to contact the police. I also called the housing maintenance office. They filed a request. Our whole building is active, so maybe we can hope that they will turn on the lights by evening," she adds.

You can indeed leave requests with the police.

"When the 112 line started taking calls about the lack of electricity, heat, and water in homes, we saw where we needed to bring the service closer to the people," Ukraine's Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko told RBC-Ukraine.

Rescue workers are on duty at tent cities 24/7 (photo: RBC-Ukraine)

Rescue workers are on duty at tent cities 24/7 (photo: RBC-Ukraine)

Rescue workers are on duty at tent cities 24/7 (photo: RBC-Ukraine)

Rescue workers are on duty at tent cities 24/7 (photo: RBC-Ukraine)

Rescue workers are on duty at tent cities 24/7 (photo: RBC-Ukraine)

Olena's house has been without heating for six days. She has one heater at home, which she moves from room to room. Of course, she can only use it when there is electricity. The Kyiv resident admits that in such situations, the main thing is not to sit still, but to keep moving.

"I don't sit still, I do something, I clean something, I cook something. Because if you just sit there, you can go completely crazy. You have to keep your spirits up somehow, so I either lay out a diamond painting or draw. I find a moment for that. Well, what else can you do? How much of winter is left? We'll get through it. But without them. Without light, without heating. But without them (the Russians – ed.)," she says confidently at the end.

"We are afraid to think what will happen when the cold weather returns."

Three women are talking near the second warming center on Lavrukhina Street. One of them has brought her dog. The Labrador in a pink jacket is happily running around among people.

"She entertained everyone here, sitting with all the children. She loves to communicate with people. But this is often a problem, because people often say, 'Where is it going, take your dog away,'" the woman complains.

The dog understands many commands and willingly obeys her owner's requests, making everyone around her smile. The woman has four Labradors. She took one of them from a shelter and works as a paramedic herself. All three live in neighboring houses near the warming center.

"We are afraid to think what will happen this weekend when the cold returns," says one of them.

Another sharp cold snap is forecast for Kyiv this weekend and the following days. The new wave of frost will replace the brief spell of above-zero temperatures. Nighttime temperatures could reach -22-23 degrees Celsius. During the day, it could be as low as -15 degrees Celsius.

"They say that one building nearby somehow has heating. But none of the others do," she adds.

A local dog actively interacted with people in the tent city (photo: RBC-Ukraine)

Due to power surges, rooms are heated in turns

Kateryna, a 70-year-old Kyiv resident who also lives in Troieshchyna, has been without heating for about eight days. The situation with electricity is also bad.

In those rare moments when there is light, the apartment is heated in stages with a heater: first one room, then another. Only then is the boiler turned on. If the electric stove is turned on, the boiler is turned off at that time, and the heater is not turned on either.

"You can't turn them on together because it blows the fuses. We come in, warm up, and then go to the cold room. We heat one room and sit there. There is no other option," says the woman.

Laundry is difficult: the water pressure is very low, and the washing machine cannot handle the laundry.

When asked how she feels about the possible installation of outdoor toilets, she reacts with great dissatisfaction: "My God, well, that's... That's just outrageous, in my opinion. How are we supposed to go to the toilet outside from the 11th floor? That's just ridiculous... Am I supposed to drag my child down from the 11th floor?"

Coffee, tea, and sweets in tents provided by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine (photo: RBC-Ukraine)

Kateryna lives with her daughter and two granddaughters: "The school is closed, the kindergarten is closed, all the granddaughters are with their grandmother." Recently, the woman heard that there will be no heating throughout Troieshchyna until summer.

"We were told specifically: there will be no heating, no hot water. That's it. There will be nothing until summer, until they fix what they broke there. We'll see," says the woman. She adds that the whole family has already adjusted psychologically to this.

However, the head of the Desnianskyi district state administration, Bakhmatov, partially dispels this version in a conversation with RBC-Ukraine. According to him, heating has already partially appeared in the Lisovyi masyv. This is already about 20% of the Desnianskyi district.

Kateryna and her family have no plans to leave Kyiv. Despite all the difficulties, they don't even want to leave Troieshchyna. Even though the temperature in their apartment is no higher than nine degrees Celsius.

"What can we do? There is no other option. We will all stay here, we're not going anywhere. We will wait for the warmth, for summer," the woman says confidently.