Themes by tag: blackout

Veterans from the 3rd Assault Corps traveled to areas experiencing power outages to support the people during this difficult time. From a special food truck, they served residents hot broth, tea, and uzvar, a traditional drink. The veterans also provided a mobile phone and power bank charging station so people could stay in contact with their loved ones.

According to the ex-soldiers, these outreach trips allow them to continue being useful to society and support those enduring severe hardship.

Journalists have the opportunity to obtain video materials from the trip and cover the food truck’s next deployment, as well as speak with the veterans.

• blackout
• Kyiv

Against the backdrop of Ukraine’s declared energy emergency and widespread, prolonged blackouts that have left thousands of Kyiv residents without heat during the bitter cold, World Central Kitchen has stepped in with emergency food aid for the capital.

The WCK team has set up hot meal stations throughout the city, serving hearty bowls of bograch and borscht. The stations are positioned in various neighborhoods to ensure the help reaches as many people as possible. At present, 50 such bograch-and-borscht stations are up and running.

Meals are also being distributed from WCK’s Invincibility Train Cars.

Journalists are welcome to cover the initiative and observe the stations in operation. The World Central Kitchen team is available for interviews and can help arrange filming at the sites.

• blackout
• food
• Kyiv

Mobile resilience centers, known as Mitzvah Tanks, are operating in the Ukrainian capital. People can warm up, drink hot tea, and charge their phones there. As explained by Ukraine’s Chief Rabbi, Moshe Reuven Azman, the word Mitzvah translates from Hebrew as “Commandment”, which is why the mobile centers are called Mitzvah Tanks.

“Our volunteers are constantly on duty with the Mitzvah Tanks so they can immediately go to help — whether to the site of a russian shelling (God forbid) to warm those who have lost their homes, or to an address where there has been no electricity or heat for over four days straight. They even assist when many liters of water need to be carried up 18 flights of stairs for elderly people who cannot do it themselves or ask someone else,” noted the Chief Rabbi of Ukraine.

Journalists have the opportunity to cover the work of the Mitzvah Tank Mobile Resilience Centers in Kyiv and speak with the Chief Rabbi of Ukraine by prior arrangement.

• blackout
• Kyiv

Prolonged power outages in the Ukrainian capital are putting the delicate collection of tropical and subtropical plants at the Hryshko National Botanical Garden under serious strain.

Winter marks the peak flowering season for many of these species, which require a steady minimum temperature of 20°C (68°F) to survive. With electricity unreliable, staff are turning to diesel generators to keep the greenhouses warm and the valuable plants alive.

The garden – home to roughly 4,000 tropical and subtropical specimens – is also supported by philanthropists through the longstanding “Heat for Greenhouses” initiative, which helps cover fuel and other emergency costs.

Journalists may visit and document the garden’s operations by prior arrangement.

• blackout
• Kyiv

Amidst the energy state of emergency declared by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and persistent blackouts that have left thousands of Kyiv residents without heating in freezing weather, World Central Kitchen is deploying urgent support for the capital’s inhabitants.

WCK is opening Bograch stations in Kyiv — locations where people can receive a warm bowl of bograch, a hearty traditional dish especially important on cold days. These stations will operate in various city districts to ensure maximum accessibility.

Daily, WCK plans to provide thousands of hot meals and is ready to expand the program if the power supply situation does not improve. Meals are also being served in the Invincibility Carriages, which are currently operating in Fastiv, Brovary, Boryspil, and Vasylkiv.

Journalists are invited to cover this initiative and observe the Bograch stations in operation. The WCK team is available to answer questions and can help organize filming on location.

• blackout
• food
• Kyiv

The first seven ‘invincibility train cars’ have begun operating in the Kyiv region, where rolling blackouts continue to disrupt daily life. Three are stationed in Brovary, two in Boryspil, and two in Vasylkiv. Each car can comfortably accommodate up to about 40 people at a time.

Inside these ‘invincibility’ carriages, residents can warm up, charge their devices, connect to the internet via Starlink, and enjoy a cup of tea.

The cars are also equipped with child-friendly amenities, including cartoons, games, coloring books, reading materials, and board games. A separate pet-friendly area offers treats for animals accompanying their owners.

For referenceThe initiative is a joint effort between Ukrzaliznytsia and Ukraine’s Ministry for Communities and Territories Development, with support from the Kyiv Regional State Administration to expand these mobile heating and charging hubs across the region.

• blackout
• Kyiv

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the Energy Act for Ukraine Foundation has been installing solar stations free of charge for hospitals, water utilities, and schools. To date, hybrid solar stations have been installed in 13 educational institutions across various regions of Ukraine, enabling students to attend in-person classes even during nationwide mass power outages.

During air raid alerts, students take shelter in bunkers equipped with light and warmth, thanks to the operation of the solar stations. The schools also function as resilience points and shelters for all community residents during emergencies.

Journalists can obtain online comments from the Energy Act for Ukraine Foundation about the solar stations’ operation (covering topics such as cost savings, capabilities, and environmental benefits). Offline coverage of real-life stories about the operation of the solar stations in schools is also possible.

• blackout
• children

Prolonged blackouts have become an everyday reality for residents of frontline areas. That is why it is now especially crucial to have autonomous power sources that enable staying connected and operating vital devices, such as oxygen concentrators or anti-decubitus mattresses. Fight For Right helps people with disabilities obtain autonomous power sources. The organization constantly seeks resources to provide as many people as possible with essential equipment.

Journalists may arrange to speak with Fight For Right representatives in Kyiv and, if possible, individuals seeking alternative power sources.

Background: Fight For Right advocates for the protection of the rights of people with disabilities in Ukraine. Since the start of the full-scale invasion, the organization has opened a hotline: 0 800 30 66 33. The organization is involved in evacuating people with disabilities and provides targeted aid, psychological support, and legal consultations.

• blackout
• Kyiv

Currently, several hundred animals are being cared for at the Bat Rehabilitation Center in Kharkiv. However, volunteers explain that this is only the beginning of the winter season, and they expect to take in several thousand bats under their care, as they did last year. The bats are brought to the Center from various Ukrainian cities.

There, specialists help the animals survive the winter, a time when bats become vulnerable and require special conditions. Animals needing extra care are fed and treated.

Due to blackouts, the center purchased a generator and an EcoFlow unit because the refrigerators where the bats are kept require constant power.

Since the full-scale war began, the rehabilitation center has increased its operations. Specialists are now focused on bat conservation and scientific research.

Journalists can speak with the Bat Rehabilitation Center coordinator, biologist Alona Shulenko, online or in person in Kharkiv by prior arrangement.

• animals
• blackout
• volunteers
• Kharkiv

In Kramatorsk, less than 20 kilometers from the front line, The Aquarium. Amazing Fish exhibition space continues operating despite escalating danger. Founded by Roman and Iryna in 2020, the venue quickly built the largest collection of marine fish in the Donetsk region before the full-scale invasion upended daily life.

Visitors can still see a wide range of aquatic species, from tangs to flagfish, as well as an ocellate river stingray that has become one of the hall’s standout residents.

As fighting edges closer to the city, some residents fleeing Kramatorsk have entrusted their own fish to the aquarium. Frequent power outages, at times lasting up to two days, pose a serious threat to the animals, and the facility now relies on a donor-funded generator to keep its tanks running. The team says they need a second generator to balance the load and ensure the fish remain safe.

Roman and Iryna are also weighing whether to relocate their marine collection to a more secure location if conditions deteriorate further.

They are available for interviews both in person and online.

• animals
• blackout
• culture