The people of Kiev staged a disco in the subway against the backdrop of massive power outages

Mobile heating points are being opened in the city, New Year’s festivities have been canceled, and it is now dangerous to use the elevator

Kyiv is waiting for a total evacuation – three million people can leave the capital. Such messages appeared against the backdrop of a complete blackout threatening the Ukrainian capital due to the fact that the country’s energy infrastructure has been destroyed by about 40%. “MK” learned about what awaits the city and how Kyiv is preparing for the winter.

For many evenings, Kyiv has been plunged into darkness, only the headlights of numerous cars on the roads illuminate the city. Residents of the Ukrainian capital live without electricity for several days in a row, and the situation is only getting worse. Over the weekend, Ukrenergo announced in a number of regions, including Kyiv, emergency shutdowns instead of rolling ones. The American newspaper The New York Times reported on the impending evacuation of about three million residents of the city.

The head of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, called on the people of Kiev to leave the city in the event of a blackout, having previously prepared supplies of provisions and warm clothes for themselves. At the same time, the authorities will still think about whether or not to put a New Year tree on the square, but it seems that they don’t really want to think over the logistics of evacuating the people of Kiev and their accommodation. Klitschko offered them to live with other people: “If you have relatives and friends in the suburbs of Kyiv, where there is a separate water supply, stove, heat to temporarily stay there, please agree in case of a bad scenario so that you can spend some time with your friends or acquaintances”. Also, Kiev residents are asked not to use the elevator, since the electricity can fail at any moment and the booth simply will not let the person out. In this case, it will not even be possible to call the dispatcher, since the call buttons will not work either.

While some Kievans are weaning from elevators and thinking about how to survive without heat and light, others, richer and more carefree, are having fun at closed parties in the depths of the Kyiv metro. On weekends, the platform of the Khreshchatyk station was packed to capacity with people – there was another disco, without lights, but with beautiful lighting and light music.

Maidan Nezalezhnosti and Khreshchatyk Kyiv metro stations, which have been closed since the beginning of hostilities, are periodically used as venues for discos, concerts of various musical groups, and even performances by businessmen and politicians. For example, British billionaire Richard Branson held his conference in the metro in the summer. All this is very annoying for ordinary residents who are forced to look for alternative routes to the city center, while trains simply pass through these stations.

Several times, the people of Kiev even created petitions with requests to stop concert activities and resume the work of the stations for their intended purpose, but the leadership of the Kyiv metro chose to ignore them. Now Ukrainians are demanding the return of free Internet to the metro and the provision of measures against the cold in the city – to organize mobile baths, a field kitchen, and laundries. The Kyiv government, in turn, plans to create about a thousand new heating points – about a hundred per district. They will be built on the basis of social facilities and in buildings with bomb shelters. “It is there that we will provide heat and power supply in case of a critical situation,” said Roman Tkachuk, director of the Municipal Security Department.

According to the official, the heating points will be equipped with heat guns and diesel generators. Psychologists and doctors will be on duty at each point, and visitors will have access to the news. In words and photographs, all this looks beautiful and modern, but many Ukrainians from other cities expressed their dissatisfaction on social networks. In their opinion, Kyiv got all the best, while the inhabitants of the provinces will be forced to huddle in old and miserable heating points, aimed rather at the homeless. Many of them are open at boarding houses or hospitals, and you can stay in them only for a limited time, allotted only for warming up. “People not only live in Kyiv, first of all, heating points should be in cities such as Kharkov, Zaporozhye, Nikolaev, and all settlements that are closer to the front, and only then in Kyiv, and any other rear city,” – Sergey, a resident of Kharkov, is indignant. “I think it’s all just words,” says Tatyana from Kiev, “It will be like with their other promises that they didn’t fulfill, or like with power outage schedules”

– What’s wrong with shutdown schedules?

The charts never worked. We need to stop writing them and announce them. The leadership of our power engineers thereby signs for unprofessionalism and sows uncertainty among citizens, and this is work against their own people. And it is also strange that the more we save, the more the energy system is overloaded.

– With what it can be connected?

– With the fact that exports to other countries are increasing.