Other people we talked to said they haven’t seen anyone evacuating the city. Nina Mishina, who lives near the Zmiivska power plant, says that many of her neighbors have once again left the city. Although the weather is getting better with spring approaching, daily bombings and long power outages have weakened her resolve. Marina Stoliarchuk is a public official who believes things are worse now than in the previous two years of war. ![]() At home, he’s prepared with solar-powered lights, rechargeable battery-powered lamps, and a 30-liter water tank for emergencies. On the bright side, Andrii says the city now has more public charging points for phones and computers. ![]() He can’t use the trolley anymore because it’s powered by electricity. From 8 am to 4 pm, there’s no electricity, spotty cell service and intermittent water supply. Ukraine successfully intercepted 11 of 20 drones - a 50% success rate compared to the country’s usual 90%.Īndrii lives on the city outskirts in a 1970s Soviet apartment block. The attack led to a power outage for 350,000 people throughout the province. At least four drones made it through to city center, causing four deaths and 12 injuries. Russia used multiple waves of drones to bomb the city on April 4. Veteran military officer Alexander Shilin highlights that in addition to missile defenses, Kharkiv lacks anti-aircraft machine guns to counter enemy drones. He now has a diesel generator in the garage to provide power to his apartment. But Alexei says they are better prepared compared to the winter of 2022. Anti-aircraft defenses struggle to intercept Russian missiles. Kyiv is well-protected, but Kharkiv is vulnerable due to its proximity to Russia: enemy territory is just 40 kilometers away. “Kharkiv doesn’t have the anti-aircraft defenses that Kyiv has,” said Alexei, a mechanic who works near the Zmiivska thermal power plant that was heavily damaged in a March 22 bombing. Russian missiles haven’t been delayed like our aid packages.” And we need anti-aircraft guns to protect people, infrastructure, homes and dams. “The Patriots are needed to defend Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia. “If we had enough air defense systems, namely Patriots, we would be able to protect not only the lives of our people, but also our economy from destruction.” President Volodymyr Zelenskiy also called on the United States to unfreeze the stalled security aid. “Give us the damn Patriots,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba bluntly said in an interview with Politico. ![]() Pedestrians use their phones for light during a blackout in Kharkiv. In 2023, the Ukrainian Air Force intercepted 80% of Russian missiles, but this has dropped to 60% in 2024. This has had a visible impact on the battlefield, leading to weaker anti-aircraft capabilities. President Joe Biden’s $60 billion security aid bill for Kyiv has been stalled for months by House Republican infighting. ![]() Military aid to Ukraine is ebbing, particularly from the United States. This type of bombing, labeled a war crime by the European Commission (EC), led allies to hasten supplying top Western air defense systems to Ukraine, including the American Patriot, the German Iris-T and the Norwegian NASAMS. It’s the second Russian campaign targeting the Ukrainian power grid, following a sustained assault from October 2022 to January 2023 that left millions of Ukrainians without essential services for months. Ukraine’s second largest city is bearing the brunt of another Russian assault on the country’s energy sector. Recent attacks by Russia have damaged power plants and substations, leading to widespread power outages and inoperable electric water pumps. Kharkiv’s 1.3 million residents face an average of six hours without electricity daily.
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