Kharkiv residents without water and electricity for more than two months
Wednesday, 18 May 2022, 10:06
Last updated: about 47 minutes ago
Several Kharkiv residents, in particular those living in the badly affected Saltivka district of the city, have been living without water and electricity for more than two months.
The Malta IndependentThe team in Ukraine spoke to a number of residents whose apartment block was stripped by the Russians a few weeks ago and who were forced to live in their basement and outdoor garden.
Living without any source of energy or heating means they have to cook their meals over an open fire in the area in front of their apartment block, and sleep through the damp basements at night in the dim light of one candle.
The Ukrainian army has pushed the Russians out of the eastern city, but heavy fighting is still raging in several small villages some 10 kilometers away. The sounds of artillery from a distance can be heard all day long in Kharkiv.
The Saltivka district was particularly hit by Russian artillery and Grad rockets and many residential areas became uninhabitable. The buildings are marked with rockets, the surrounding areas strewn with debris. Most of the cars were damaged without repairs and the power cables cut dangerously hung on the roads.
Some buildings were hit by air bombs or cruise missiles and collapsed.
“It simply came to our notice then. We have been without water and electricity for more than two months since the start of the war, ”said 82-year-old Zoya Fedorivna Apatchenko. The Malta Independent.
She explained that her birthday was on February 23, the day before the outbreak of the war.
“My apartment was partially destroyed. My neighbor’s balcony fell from the eighth floor to my seventh-floor balcony. I’m afraid there might be unexploded ordnance inside and the military has advised me not to go into her apartment. There is currently no one who can repair the damage. ”
Most nights you sleep in the basement with your neighbors. ” It’s so bad without electricity because we only have one candle, which is not enough. “
“We go out early in the morning and sit on the bench. We can’t rest. We have this community here. We spent time together until 8pm, ”he added, adding that the volunteers would bring humanitarian aid.
Zoya said she hopes with all her heart that the war will end soon. “We ask everyone to help us end the war.”
Her feeling is shared by other members of her community, who are too eager to return to some appearance of normalcy, and a decent place to live.
Photos: Giuseppe Attard and Alex Zakletsky
Our team in Ukraine would like to thank the following companies for their support:
GO – for providing them with unlimited mobile data.
Moneybase, Jesmond Mizzi Financial Advisors, APS Bank, EY Malta, Multi Packaging Limited for providing financial support.
The Malta Police Force for providing the team with protective equipment.