The current returned to kyiv, victim of Russian bombardments on Monday, October 31. More than 80% of the inhabitants of the capital were deprived of water and “hundreds of localities” were without electricity, according to the Ukrainian government. But the population is resistant to daily power cuts, testifies Tetyana Ogarkova. The journalist and head of the international department at the Ukraine Crisis Media Center, told franceinfo on Tuesday November 1 that these attacks by Russia do not undermine the morale of Ukrainians “but reinforces it”on the contrary.
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“You easily get used to these power cuts, because there is nothing really serious in it”Judge Tetyana Ogarkova. “The first time, when there is no electricity, you panic. The second time, you have already learned gestures to hold on… it doesn’t scare anyone anymore. It boosts morale and especially the rage against the Russians who proceed with barbaric gestures by destroying civilian and non-military installations”.
Power cuts are daily, and last several days after the Russian strikes, details Tetyana Ogarkova, who just fears living a “blackout” when she is in an elevator. Because the cuts can last “four hours, sometimes six hours. Some residents testified to a lack of power for 11 hours, but it is rather rare”.
Another consequence of these bombardments, says the journalist, “As soon as there is no electricity, there is no drinking water. So we have to make tanks. In our bathroom, we fill the bathtub just in case. Each time that there is water, we try to stock up to be able to hold out.”
The fear of the months to come is the cold of this winter, “especially if the Russians continue to hit the electrical installations, it will be quite difficult to survive in the urban environment without the heating”. But the journalist ensures that every Ukrainian always thinks of a plan B, in order to survive, on a daily basis, in this war which began eight months ago.