DNIPRO A sleepy suburb on the edge of the city of Dnipro is drowning in darkness. The only source of dim light is the local fire station.
Next to it is a white tarpaulin tent. To get in, you have to open two zippered doors. Eight people greet us inside.
There is a table lamp in the tent, but the room is lit with cell phones and flashlights.
– There are a lot of us and only five sockets. We decided that it’s more important to charge our devices than to keep the lamp and heating radiator on, waiting for the mobile phone to charge Halyna explain.
He is from Donetsk. Dnipro is already another place of refuge for him and his daughter. The father of the family is currently fighting on the Eastern Front.
– We have been without electricity for almost two days. First there was a scheduled outage, and then there was a shock, and the electricity was never restored. This tent is a real lifesaver.
A nationwide project on assistance points
On Wednesday, November 23, Russia launched about 70 missiles into Ukraine, causing destruction to the energy and water supply infrastructure. The majority of Ukrainians remained without electricity, including three entire administrative regions and a few individual large cities.
The people of Kyiv could not get water from the taps for a day. In Dnipro, which has almost a million inhabitants, the disturbances in the operation of the water plant lasted for two days.
Already after the previous attacks in Ukraine, it was realized that separate warming places or assistance points must be opened for citizens in case the electricity and heating are cut off in homes. After the last massive missile strike, the sites were combined under the same project.
The project was named “Points of discouragement”. It is based on the idea that the Russian attacks will not be able to discourage the Ukrainians. In recent weeks, the most important message in Ukraine has been: “Better without electricity than with you”. The slogan refers to the Russians.
There are many different assistance points. Some operate in buildings that have a generator or that are part of critical infrastructure and do not cut off electricity from them. In Kyiv, points have been opened in, for example, police stations and schools.
Some of the aid stations function as separate mobile tents. In Dnipro, such have been erected near each fire station.
– Our tent was opened on Thursday after the attack and it has been busy during the day. Electricity was drawn there directly from the station, says the fire marshal Maksym Baikov.
The same services throughout the country
More than 4,000 points of indomitability have already been opened. Up to 40 people can fit in the places in the fixed buildings, and a maximum of ten people in the tent.
The services are the same at all points. They have sockets for charging electrical devices, a light source, heating radiator and chairs, wireless internet connection, travel radio, drinking water and snacks.
– The children already got cookies and they liked them, rejoices the person who came with three children Tetjana.
The older daughter is reading a book by the light of a small flashlight. The youngest in the family wonder about going around.
– We don’t know what kind of weather there will be in the future. Unfortunately, you can expect anything from a neighboring terrorist state. New missile strikes, destruction of infrastructure can come from there. That’s why I think this project needs to be expanded and more points opened, says Tetjana.
Domestic water from the fire station
The aid station is not the only thing that attracts locals to the fire station. People come with buckets and big bottles to get so-called technical water. It is water that can be used, for example, for washing, but not as drinking water as such.
Water is taken for our own use from huge cisterns. Most of those looking for water arrive in their own cars.
An assistance point can be opened by anyone or any community that has a constant supply of electricity. Information about the new object will be added to the website of the assistance point network.
In addition, charging points for electrical devices have been opened in Dnipro, for example, in supermarkets, and in Kyiv, for example, in metro stations. The assistance points will remain operational as long as there is a need for them.
You can discuss the topic on Tue 6.12. until 11 p.m.