The Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, is experiencing weeks of extreme hardship. Since 9 January, Russian attacks have targeted the country's energy system, directly affecting the electricity supply to Kyiv and other cities. With temperatures reaching minus 20 degrees, the difficulties are growing day by day.

Mariana Laskava lives in Kyiv and works for the international evangelical organisation Word of Life.

“This winter is much colder than in recent years. We have always managed to get through the winter well thanks to our electric heating system, but now Russia is deliberately bombing the electricity and heating systems in an attempt to demoralise the people”, she explains to Spanish news website, Protestante Digital.

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Laskava reports that the attacks have intensified in recent weeks, leaving large areas of the capital and its surroundings without electricity or heating for days on end.

“We are talking about a city where around four million people normally live. Many people have been without heating for almost the entire month”, she says.

In multi-storey buildings, elevators are not working, water is not flowing through the pipes, and homes are left in darkness in the evening. According to several sources, over 5,000 buildings are without power.

“There are people living on the 18th or 20th floors without an elevator, water, heating or electricity. In winter, it gets dark around five in the afternoon, so from that time onwards, people are left in the dark with temperatures inside their homes of four or six degrees”, points out Laskava.

In order to keep warm and have some light, many families rely on candles, torches or large energy storage devices that cannot always be charged because “sometimes you have to walk down 18 floors to find a place with electricity and then carry it all the way back up again. Life has become really difficult”, she explains.

The most vulnerable people are those who find it hardest to adapt, “especially the elderly, who can't go up and down stairs, can't keep warm and can hardly go out shopping”, adds Laskava.

Some families have left to other areas of the country where the situation is somewhat less harsh, but many others are holding out.

Almost four years of war

Amidst this scenario, Ukraine is approaching the fourth anniversary of the Russian invasion. Although there have been talks and diplomatic contacts, hope among the population is limited.

“People don't have much confidence in the negotiations. There have been many talks before, and Russia always demands that we surrender and give up part of our land. We don't want to do that”, says Laskava.

Nevertheless, she adds, “prayer remains a refuge. We don't trust people that much, but we trust the Lord, who can end any war”.

International aid, which was highly visible in the early years of the conflict, has also declined.

“Many people have grown tired of helping, or no longer hear news from Ukraine. Sometimes it seems like the world doesn't know what we are going through”, laments Laskava.

However, the needs remain enormous: energy storage devices, powerful torches, portable stoves, sleeping bags, thermal blankets, and any other resources that allow people to keep warm and cook with hot water. “People even set up tents inside their homes to concentrate the heat and sleep in sleeping bags as if they were outdoors”, she tells Protestante Digital.

“We are not giving up. We are going through a very difficult time, but we are moving forward, trusting in God”, concludes Laskava.

Children, among the most vulnerable to the cold

This daily reality is particularly evident in the situation of the children, one of the groups most affected by the cold and power cuts. According to World Vision, Ukraine is currently facing “the coldest and most dangerous winter since 2022”.

In Kyiv and other regions, schools will remain closed until at least February, leaving hundreds of thousands of children “cut off from education, safe spaces, and essential support”.

“This is the worst winter for Ukrainian children since the war began”, said Arman Grigoryan, World Vision Ukraine Crisis Response Director.

According to the organisation, the extreme cold is affecting thousands of households that rely on central heating. One in five families are already reporting health problems related to the low indoor temperatures.

Eight-year-old Mark, who lives in Kiev, recounts in a video released by the NGO that there are “power cuts all the time”, so that “there is no heating and it is very difficult to keep warm. We are cold. We have to wear warm clothes at home”.

Power cuts also make it difficult to use mobile phones, as batteries run out and it is difficult to recharge them, specially when “we need them to get information or call for help”, he says.

Furthermore, “school is online, yet learning is difficult when electricity and Wi-Fi do not work. Sometimes I cannot hear my teacher at all. With no power, no heat, and frequent air alarms, living like this is very hard”, concluded Mark.

World Vision has scaled up its humanitarian response, providing financial assistance, winter kits and generators to keep childcare and support centres running.

Since the start of the war, the organisation has helped over 2.3 million people in Ukraine, including more than a million children. However, the needs far exceed the available resources.

EEA solidarity and prayer call

The European Evangelical Alliance (EEA) recently issued a statement expressing its “deep sorrow and grave concern” over the attacks “carried out against Ukrainian cities and civilian infrastructure since the beginning of 2026”.

They also asked “churches, Christian leaders, and faith communities across Europe and beyond to speak clearly, pray persistently, and act compassionately for Ukraine”.