Ukrainians withstand days-long power cuts in crowded ‘resilience’ shelters

(Corrects story to fix spelling in headline)

By Yurii Kovalenko

VYSHHOROD, Ukraine, Dec 30 (Reuters) – For three days, after the latest Russian air attacks on Ukraine, Olena Pazhydaieva has had no power or heat in her apartment in Vyshhorod, a satellite town 20 km (12 miles) north of Kyiv.

With night-time temperatures dipping to -3 C (27 Fahrenheit), she now spends much of the day with her six-year-old son in a shelter the size of a small shack, but with heating and power to connect the devices she needs to work.

About 20 people crowd into the building – dubbed “islet of warmth and power” on the sign outside – with mobile phones and laptops charging in order to keep working and connected.

“After the last attack, we haven’t had electricity for the third day, power hasn’t appeared at all, and now we’re forced to work here in a shelter, where we can charge our stations, charge our laptops,” Pazhydaieva said.

“It’s good that there’s internet. We can work. I’m not the only person here, there are many people.”

Russian drone and missile attacks have long targeted energy facilities throughout Ukraine, triggering blackouts.

The latest massive attack knocked out power to 19,000 customers in Kyiv region surrounding the capital, according to Ukraine’s Energy Ministry.

The shack is one of a large network of “resilience points” set up by authorities to keep people warm and able to function.

But family life without power can be complicated.

“We go to an after-school group and they usually take the kids in on holidays, too,” Pazhydaieva said. “But when we went there today, we went inside, it was super cold and all the kids were wearing jackets…At least it’s warm here.”

Each family finds new ways to cope.

For Pazhydaieva, that means spending time at the “islet” to recharge devices and then trying to connect the water heater at home to a portable power station to keep everyone warm.

She has little faith in the U.S.-backed talks on resolving the conflict, particularly U.S. President Donald Trump’s remark at a meeting on Sunday in Florida that Russian President Vladimir Putin “wants Ukraine to succeed”.

“When Trump says that Putin wants prosperity for Ukraine as missiles are flying at us, somehow these two statements don’t really match up,” she said.

“Right now we’re just observing and not much depends on us. We’re doing the best we can here where we are now.”

(Reporting by Yurii Kovalenko, Daria Smetanko and Felix Hoske; writing by Ron Popeski; Editing by Lincoln Feast)