Translated material
War
One thousand four hundred twenty-fifth day. Russian troops continue to attack Ukrainian energy in the cold. The Kyiv region remains without electricity
Since February 24, 2022, Meduza has been broadcasting live about the Russian-Ukrainian war. We publish your letters every day because we are sure that we need to continue talking about the war. Share with us your thoughts about the war. What feelings are you experiencing? How does war affect your life and your attitude towards the world? If you have a story related to the war, tell it . The feedback form is at the end of this article. You can read the previous day's review here .
Ukraine
Russian troops continue to attack the Ukrainian energy sector, leaving people without heat and light during unrelenting cold weather
On the night of January 18, Russian troops attacked Kharkov and the region using an aerial bomb, several missiles and more than a dozen drones, said the head of the military administration Oleg Sinegubov. In the Kholodnogorsk district of Kharkov, a 20-year-old local resident was killed as a result of an attack on a private house. At least three more people were injured.
In addition, on the night of January 18, Russia attacked the Sumy, Dnepropetrovsk, Zaporozhye, Khmelnytsky and Odessa regions. In Sumy, most of the Gorvodokanal facilities were de -energized due to power outages. In the south of the Odessa region, an energy infrastructure facility was damaged.
Due to constant Russian shelling aimed at the Ukrainian energy sector, residents of many regions continue to experience difficulties with heat and light. In Kyiv, where, according to the mayor of the capital Vitaliy Klitschko, on the morning of January 17, about 50 houses still remained without heating (after the shelling on January 9, about six thousand high-rise buildings were deprived of heat), the curfew rules were updated so that residents, even at night, could get to round-the-clock “points of invincibility.” In the Kyiv region, emergency power outages were introduced on January 18. The Ukrainian energy company DTEK reported that the situation is complicated by cold weather and overloaded power grids.
Now the air temperature in Kyiv drops to 11–12 degrees Celsius during the day, and to about 15–16 at night. At the beginning of next week in Ukraine it is expected to drop to -22 degrees below zero at night and from -9 to -14 degrees during the day.
The Russian Ministry of Defense in its daily report on January 18 stated that the military had defeated enterprises for assembling drones, energy facilities and transport infrastructure used in the interests of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Vladimir Zelensky, commenting on the Russian shelling last night, wrote that the situation in the Ukrainian energy system continues to be difficult. “We are doing everything to restore everything as quickly as possible,” he added.
War in photographs. Khortitsa Nature Reserve
On the island of Khortytsia within the city of Zaporozhye there is a natural-historical complex of the same name. About 1.2 thousand plant species grow here and more than 1.5 thousand animal species live here. Although the reserve is located in unoccupied territory, the war also affected it. The island’s ecosystem is changing under the influence of shelling and fires, and the explosion of the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station in the summer of 2023 led to serious consequences - from the drying out of trees to the disappearance of the floodplain, which affected fish, algae and other organisms. In addition, many reserve employees went to the front.
War through the eyes of Meduza readers
How we choose letters
Meduza's readers live in different countries and have different attitudes towards the war. We publish your letters to see this event through your eyes. Our editors try to present all points of view, even if they do not coincide with the editorial position. However, in accordance with the Meduza code, we do not publish messages that contain “hate speech,” justify the murder of civilians, or express direct support for an aggressive war.
Sevgil (Sevastopol) . I'm scared. I'm afraid this will never end. On my land, the war began in 2014. I remember I was nine years old when I saw the military in full uniform on the streets of my city. My parents tried to protect me, to hide the difficult truth, but I still heard everything. I felt that my main fear was coming true - war. There is war at home. We didn’t leave anywhere, we stayed in Crimea. As my mother told me, we cannot leave our city, no matter how hard it is for us. And an emptiness settled in my soul, a lack of something important. The lack of a Ukrainian flag over the city administration, the lack of hryvnia in the wallet, the lack of freedom. Everything was somehow wrong. Sometimes it seems that everyone around me has gone crazy, and I wanted to succumb to this “patriotic” ecstasy, but I simply could not do it, I could not betray my homeland.
When the full-scale invasion began, the wound on my soul became even greater. I remember that day I woke up to the sounds of fighter jets, with nothing to do, I went on Twitter and saw the news that completely broke my heart. My house was occupied, and now my country is being bombed from it! I was afraid that we would not withstand the onslaught of this horde, but, fortunately, I was wrong. Our people survived, defended, and now continue to repel the invader. And yes, I am afraid that this will never end, but in my soul there remains hope that everything will return to normal, and those responsible for this crime will answer for their actions.