Last week, the war took on a new tone in Ukraine. Iranian-engineered kamikaze drones flew over the sky in the capital Kyiv. The sound is described as a high-frequency moped. In front of the ash-grey, wide metal wings are 30 to 50 kilograms of explosives. The drones fly slowly compared to rockets, only around 200 kilometers per hour. That gives enough time for the fear to rise in step with the sound of the engine. Where does the deadly load fall? The Russian drones fly low and slow, but cost far less than cruise missiles. Photo: STRINGER / Reuters In last week’s attack, the goals were clear: According to President Volodymyr Zelenskyj, 30 percent of Ukraine’s power grid was destroyed by the attacks last week. Operating without electricity – We have lost electricity today due to Russian missiles, says chief physician Oleksandr Gromov, at the hospital in the town of Kamyanske. He speaks on the phone with news, after a 13-hour shift at the hospital and is clearly exhausted. – I have to work long hours, because we have many patients. I can’t go home when the working day is actually over. Gromov is responsible for operations at the emergency hospital in Kamyanske. The city on the Dnipro river has been hit hard by Russian attacks on the power grid. According to the President of Ukraine, 1 million households in the country are without electricity after Russian attacks. In Kamyanske, the hospital is one of the few places where the power was quickly reconnected, because they have a power generator. The hospital, which used to admit various trauma patients, has become a war hospital. – We bring in soldiers, civilians and people who have voluntarily enlisted in the war, says the surgeon who daily operates on people who have been injured by Russian missiles. He now only takes in mostly people who have been wounded in the war. Today alone he has carried out four operations. – We bring in soldiers, civilians and people who have voluntarily enlisted in the war, says the surgeon who daily operates on people who have been injured by Russian missiles. Photo: Oleksandr Gromov Lack of medicines – The biggest problem is getting enough medicines. We get help from outside, also from Norway, but with so many injured, we always need more. More antibiotics, more anticoagulation drugs, says the tired doctor. Gromkov repeats several times that he is grateful for the help the hospital has received via fundraising campaigns in Norway, but says that the need for medicine is enormous. There is always a need for more. – The Ukrainian government prioritizes soldiers at the front. So there is a shortage of groceries and medicines in central Ukraine, says Rafal Roszkiewicz of the Polish-Ukrainian foundation Pogon Ruska. The foundation drives busloads of medicines to hospitals at the front. He contacts hospital managers in Ukraine directly and collects medicines and aids as needed. – The Ukrainian government prioritizes soldiers at the front. So there is a shortage of groceries and medicines in central Ukraine, says Rafal Roszkiewicz of the Polish-Ukrainian foundation Pogon Ruska. Photo: private Fearing winter The city of Dnipro is one of the cities that has had its electricity system destroyed by attacks. Denys Havrylov in the teller stream was gone for a few days. When the power grid has now been repaired, it is still constantly switched off, so that people do not use too much. – What scares me is that I never know if it will hit my house, or fly on, says Denys Havrylov. – It’s still quite warm outside, so when we lose the power it is possible to keep it warm inside. But it will get colder soon. Like many other Ukrainians, he is preparing for new attacks. Water is collected in jugs. People are also preparing for the fact that the gas used for heating food will be turned off. – It will probably be the hardest winter of my life. But I am prepared. I bought a propane burner for cooking. Several of my friends have bought gas-powered power generators. I also have several battery banks, says the 25-year-old IT engineer. – It will probably be the hardest winter of my life. But I am prepared. I’ve bought a propane burner to cook Photo: Denys Havrylov Denys talks about everyday life, how he tries to live a normal life while the war is being fought in the sky above him. – I have become used to missiles and drones constantly flying over my house. What scares me is that I never know if it will hit my house, or fly on, says Denys Havrylov. He is asked if he feels safe in the city where he lives and replies that he thinks it is safer to be in a big city because they have better air defense systems here. – But nowhere in Ukraine is safe now – What all the places we visit have in common is a lack of food, says Daniel Lewakowski in the aid initiative Ukraine Support Power Bus. Photo: Daniel Lewakowski Lack of food According to the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, the lack of food and groceries will become one of the biggest problems in Ukraine in the future. Ukrainian forces have cut off several of the Russian supply lines to the front. Some that could lead to Russian soldiers taking food from the local population in the occupied territories. Many areas are dependent on humanitarian aid. – What all the places we visit have in common is a lack of food. In many places it is difficult to keep warm, after window panes have been broken by attacks, says Daniel Lewakowski in the aid initiative Ukraine Support Power Bus. With the help of fundraising campaigns in Poland, he fills up the bus with food and clothes and drives to areas at the front. When news talks to him, he has just returned from his 22nd second trip across the border. This time he has been in Mykolajiv with blankets and quilts. – In Mikolaijv there is one place where the municipality sets up a water tank and people can come with jugs and bottles and fill up with water. One place, for the whole big city, says Lewakowski. Photo: Emilio Morenatti / AP – In Mykolajiv, they have not had drinking water for several months after the water main into the city was blown up in April. The pipe has been repaired, but the water flowing around the city’s water pipes is salty. Lewakowski and his crew are parked in the same place where drinking water is distributed to the city’s residents. – In Mikolaijv there is one place where the municipality sets up a water tank and people can come with jugs and bottles and fill up with water. One place, for the whole big city, says Lewakowski. – The power knocked out trams and trolleybuses so I had to walk. My smartwatch showed that I had never walked that far in one day, says Zalizniak. Photo: Yuriy Zaliznak – Never gone this far When the power grid is attacked, it has major ripple effects. Water supply, mobile and internet: everything needs electricity to work. – The power went out in the evening and was gone all night and the next day. We lost both mobile coverage and internet access. I did not show whether my parents were injured by the attack. It was not possible to get in touch with them, or find out exactly where the attack happened, says journalist Yuriy Zalizniak in Lviv. The next day he had to get to his feet to find out if they had survived the attack. – The power knocked out trams and trolleybuses so I had to walk. My smartwatch showed that I had never walked that far in one day, says Zalizniak. Yuriy spent the evening without electricity having a nice dinner with his friend Serhiy. Without telephone coverage, he was unable to make contact with the outside world. Photo: Yuriy Zalizniak He talks about life after the invasion. His wife and children have fled abroad. He himself continues to work at the university, while he waits for the possibility that he will be drafted into the army. Lviv in the far west of Ukraine has been spared the worst of the fighting, but here too people are preparing for a winter without electricity. – Many buildings have locks that are opened electronically. Housing associations buy power generators so that people can get in and out of their homes, says Zalizniak. Margarita Khorosjun in Zaporizhzhya prepares for the water to be shut off. She has food supplies in the basement and water storage under the sink. Photo: Margarita Khorosjun Fear of attack on the nuclear power plant In the last week, the Russians have attacked a number of civilian targets. In addition to energy plants, a number of residential buildings have been hit. – We used to be afraid of the rockets that were constantly flying over the sky. To be honest, we’ve gotten used to it by now. But when Putin attacks apartment blocks and civilian motorcades, we are no longer afraid. We feel hatred instead, says Margarita Khorosjun in Zaporizhzhya. In Zaporizhzhya, power cuts are not the main problem. The city houses Europe’s largest nuclear power plant. If the power supply to this facility should stop so that the nuclear reactor is damaged, it could lead to a nuclear disaster. – Putin wants to create fear. That we should be afraid all the time. I can’t stop a nuclear bomb being fired at us, but I can stop being afraid, says Khorosjun.
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Winter is coming to Ukraine – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
