For the third consecutive day, Olena Pazhydaieva and her six-year-old son have been living without electricity or heating in their apartment in Vyshhorod, a town just north of Kyiv. This dire situation is a direct result of the latest wave of Russian air attacks targeting Ukrainian energy infrastructure, a grim reality that has become all too familiar for millions.
Shelter in a Shack: An 'Islet of Warmth and Power'
With night-time temperatures plunging to a chilly -3 degrees Celsius (27 Fahrenheit), their home is uninhabitable. Their salvation comes in the form of a small, unassuming shelter, one of many officially designated "resilience points" scattered across the region. A sign outside aptly calls it an "islet of warmth and power."
Inside, about 20 people crowd together, their mobile phones and laptops plugged into every available socket. For Pazhydaieva, a professional who needs to stay connected, this space is now her makeshift office. "After the last attack, we haven't had electricity for the third day, power hasn't appeared at all, and now we're forced to work here in a shelter, where we can charge our stations, charge our laptops," she explained. The presence of internet is a crucial lifeline, allowing her and others to continue working despite the chaos.
The Widespread Impact of Targeted Strikes
The disruption is vast and systematic. Russian drone and missile assaults have long focused on Ukraine's energy grid. The most recent massive barrage had a severe local impact, leaving 19,000 customers in the Kyiv region without power, according to the country's Energy Ministry. These attacks force ordinary life into complicated patterns.
Pazhydaieva's experience highlights the ripple effects. Even places meant for children offer little respite. "We go to an after-school group... But when we went there today, we went inside, it was super cold and all the kids were wearing jackets," she recounted. The contrast with the warm shelter was stark. Each family devises its own survival strategies. For Pazhydaieva, it involves charging devices at the 'islet' and then attempting to connect a water heater at home to a portable power station to generate some warmth.
Disbelief Amid Distant Diplomacy
As she navigates this daily struggle for basic comfort and connectivity, news of high-level diplomacy feels disconnected from her reality. She expressed little faith in U.S.-backed talks to resolve the conflict, particularly reacting to a recent remark by former U.S. President Donald Trump. Trump stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin "wants Ukraine to succeed."
For Pazhydaieva, hearing such statements while missiles rain down is jarring. "When Trump says that Putin wants prosperity for Ukraine as missiles are flying at us, somehow these two statements don't really match up," she observed with palpable skepticism. Her focus remains on the immediate and the possible. "Right now we're just observing and not much depends on us. We're doing the best we can here where we are now," she said, encapsulating the resilience and weary pragmatism defining civilian life in wartime Ukraine.
