– The power network is failing, says Deputy Prime Minister Irina Vereshchuk to the BBC. – Look at what Russia is doing. The Deputy Prime Minister continues that although she would like Ukrainians to come home this spring, it is important to stay awake now because “the situation will only get worse”. This thermal power plant was destroyed by Russian missiles in September. Photo: GLEB GARANICH / Reuters – If possible, keep diving abroad until further notice. Russia has recently stepped up its attacks on power stations, waterworks and other critical infrastructure around the country. According to President Volodymyr Zelenskyj, Russian airstrikes have destroyed more than a third of the energy sector in Ukraine. Ukrainians in the village of Mykolaiv are given wooden houses to be able to keep warm through the winter. Those who wait also get drinking water. The houses were built here by volunteers who want to help those who are still without heat and electricity. Winter is at the door, and the need is big. Among those who have taken advantage of the offer are these residents… and this local woman. Here, too, close to the front line, life goes on. These are said to have also led to one million households losing electricity. Now the authorities fear that they have too little energy supply for all those who have plans to move home this autumn and winter. A woman lights a candle during a power outage on the outskirts of Kyiv on October 20. Photo: Emilio Morenatti / AP Gloomy everyday Roberto Vila-Sexto is the country director of the Norwegian Refugee Council in Ukraine. On his way to Kyiv from the small town of Shevchenkove at the front in the east, he describes a literally bleak everyday. – The big cities ration electricity, and it is dark every day from 18 because there is not enough electricity to use street lights, he says to news. A man chops wood in Kishvarika, Ukraine, 16 October. Photo: Francisco Seco / AP – In the villages, people struggle to get enough wood for their homes. We at the Norwegian Refugee Council and many other organizations are now working hard to help the inhabitants of these areas prepare for winter. We try to get firewood, warm clothes, sleeping bags and to help insulate the houses. But much of the village has been destroyed by the fighting, describes Vila-Sexto. He says that unemployment is also a big challenge. – In the recently liberated areas it is not easy to go back to their old job, and many struggle to get hold of the things they need. Millions have nevertheless returned Slightly over 6 million Ukrainians who fled their homes have already returned, according to the UN’s migration agency. Most of these must have stayed in places in the country that were not occupied, while one in five must have sought refuge in other countries. Refugee Svetlana (left) together with her children and a neighbor’s child in a refugee camp in southern Ukraine. Photo: BULENT KILIC / AFP Pictures from a refugee camp in the south of the country, which was established in an old children’s home, still show many families who have spent their days waiting. In the canteen sits Svetlana (27) and the food that is delivered together with her children, and one child who will be their neighbour. Out on the playground, three boys are dangling from the climbing frame, who have also fled from the fighting. It is uncertain when some of them will be able to return home. The children use the playground at the children’s home to pass the days. Photo: BULENT KILIC / AFP Last month, the Polish employment agency Gremi Personal conducted a survey among more than a thousand Ukrainian refugees in Poland. One in five answered that they had plans to go home before winter started. One in three said they would stay until next year. Poland borders Ukraine in the west, near the cities of Lutsk and Lviv. Still a large influx of refugees to Europe Elsewhere in Europe, more than 7.6 million Ukrainians have registered refugee status, reports the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. The war in Ukraine has also led to a historically large refugee trauma to Norway, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre (Ap) stated on Tuesday. Of the 34,000 asylum seekers who have come to the country in 2022, 30,000 are Ukrainians. More refugees have settled this year than in the last four years combined. Ukraine carries out repair work on the train line to Belgorod. Photo: CLODAGH KILCOYNE / Reuters Even more are expected before the end of the year, and the government has tripled its estimate for next year. In total, 70,000 are expected in two years. The energy commissioner in the EU, Kadri Simson, after a meeting with the member countries’ energy ministers on Tuesday, called for donations of money and equipment so that the energy sector in Ukraine will get back on its feet.
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Asking refugees from the war not to return home this winter – but millions are already there – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
