In Ukraine, the country is preparing for a winter that promises to be difficult: on Sunday, November 17, Russia began its strikes against the country’s energy infrastructure and, now, 65% of the country’s production capacity has been destroyed. In Kharkiv, the country’s second city, around thirty kilometers from the Russian border, residents fear spending a winter without heating or electricity.
In the north of the city, Vitali struggles to open his door. This retiree’s house was seriously damaged by a warhead, which fell about thirty meters away last August. “This door is completely ruined, there are drafts going everywhere,” he laments. In the corridor, Vitali, disappointed, shows us the polystyrene blocks which block the holes in the walls. Outside, the first snowflakes are starting to fall. “Winter is coming, and I have no money to repair my househe adds. If the Russians turn off the heat, I don’t know what will happen to me.”
After three years of war, Russia has made a habit of targeting energy infrastructure to paralyze the economy and demoralize the population. “Russian attacks leave residents without heat and electricity, not only in the Kharkiv region, but throughout the country, notes Ievgen Ivanov, deputy governor of the military administration of the Kharkiv region. Believe me, no defense in the world, even the best air defense system, can protect against dozens of ballistic or cruise missiles. Especially close to the front.”
In her apartment on the ninth floor of a building, Irina unpacks her bags piled up near the door in front of us. “We are ready to flee. I have everything I need to last several days : change of clothes, medicines, food”, details this resident.
Around the city, the war has thrown the countryside and its inhabitants into precariousness. Larissa is a veteran, returning home after two and a half years near the front. She fears not having the means to heat herself throughout the winter. “Prices have increased enormously on absolutely everything, she laments. Products, heating, wood. Absolutely everything. Even medications. Everything has become very expensive. The subsidies I receive, which are very, very low, are not enough to pay for the gas.”
In the hearth of his living room, a fire of briquettes delivered by an NGO warms the room. Next to the portrait of her brother, killed in combat, Larissa hopes to be able to regain her strength this winter. Next spring, she plans to return to the front.
Winter and war in Kharkiv: report by Stanislas Poyet
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