Evacuate or freeze? Kyiv braces for worst case of a winter without power

TL;DR

During winter, Kyiv sees temperatures plunge below the freezing point, making the potential for power outages in the coming months particularly alarming.“If it’s -20 (-4 F°) outside, I will probably have to go somewhere with my little one,” she said, adding that she was “sick of everything.”Another Kyiv resident, art instructor Rostyslav Zavhorodnii, said he had stocked up on kerosene and battery-powered lanterns.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly address Sunday that more than 4.5 million consumers were without electricity, mostly around Kyiv, and warned that Moscow’s military was preparing new “mass attacks on our infrastructure.”The Ukrainian energy company Ukrenergo announced it was limiting electricity in Kyiv and a number of other regions, including Kharkiv, Chernihiv and Sumy, by 30%.Freezing is not the only problem that would face Kyiv’s residents if this scenario was repeated in the thick of winter.While critical heating systems are threatened, he said, other elements such as sewage and water supply could quickly succumb without effective pumping systems."

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