Ukrainians brace for wintery-weather blasts amid missile strikes
"The situation right now is tough. It's hard."
KYIV, Ukraine (KGO) -- Eight months in and the war in Ukraine is intensifying. Russian missiles haven taken out parts of the power grid and leaving millions in the dark.
"The situation right now is tough. It's hard," said Mark Savchuk in an interview from Ukraine, noting some areas are getting just a few hours of power a day, while others have none.
"I have no idea if they will be able to repair and bring it back to six or seven hours a day," he said, adding as winter weather fast approaches areas once occupied by Russia are most vulnerable.
"Lots and lots of people especially on liberated territories have zero access to anything," said Savchuk. "They can't even wash their clothes, they can't do anything because the Russians have destroyed all the infrastructure."
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"That's the great worry at the moment. Is the falling temperatures and how people are going to cope with that," said Rachel Harvey, ShoeBox program manager for Ukraine. The nonprofit is based out of the UK and Santa Barbara.
"When it comes to the winter, you have no heating and no electricity for light, and water because you need the electricity to run the water that gets serious," said Harvey.
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The team is helping people get their war-torn homes winter-ready. "We're providing wooden struts with hardware to fix roofs. We're providing clear plastic sheeting and sealing foam to replace windows, said Harvey. "We're providing solid fuel burning stoves and a supply of firewood for winter, then winter clothing for people, and thermal blankets."
Solar is also going to play a critical role in getting people through this winter safely, she added.
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"Things like solar lights, it's a pretty simple thing to use, a smallish bit of kit, but it's really important and makes a huge difference in people just being able to get on with their lives."
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