Ukraine capital bombed but not beaten; Russia swaps prisoners
- In scenes hard to believe in a modern city of 3 million, some Kyiv residents resorted to collecting rainwater from drainpipes
- Kyiv’s cafes became oases of comfort as residents were served hot drinks and food with music and Wi-fi. ‘Here is life’, said one
Residents of Ukraine’s bombed but undaunted capital clutched empty bottles in search of water and crowded into cafes for power and warmth on Thursday, switching defiantly into survival mode after new Russian missile strikes a day earlier plunged the city and much of the country into the dark.
In scenes hard to believe in a bustling city of 3 million, some Kyiv residents resorted to collecting rainwater from drainpipes, as repair teams laboured to reconnect supplies.
Friends and family members exchanged messages to find out who had electricity and water back. Some had one but not the other. The previous day’s aerial onslaught on Ukraine’s power grid left many with neither.
Cafes in Kyiv that by some small miracle had both quickly became oases of comfort on Thursday.
Oleksiy Rashchupkin, a 39-year-old investment banker, awoke to find that water had been reconnected to his third-floor flat but power had not. His freezer thawed in the blackout, leaving a puddle on his floor.
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So he hopped in a cab and crossed the Dnieper River from left bank to right, to a cafe that he’d noticed had stayed open after previous Russian strikes. Sure enough, it was open, serving hot drinks, hot food and with the music and Wi-fi on.