Amid freezing conditions and widespread hardship as Russia decimates Ukraine's energy facilities, some Kyiv locals are keeping their spirits up by heading onto the streets to party with neighbors.
Block Parties, Street Barbecues In Kyiv As Russia Targets Energy Grid
Residents of an apartment block gather on the street for a communal barbecue on January 18 after Russian strikes on Kyiv's energy grid cut power to many parts of the Ukrainian capital.
Kyiv residents light sparklers amid the impromptu street party after central heating was cut.
Residents dance on the street during the wartime block party. Kyiv has experienced a harsh cold snap in recent days, with temperatures plummeting to around minus 15 Celsius (5 Fahrenheit) on January 18.
Residents warm themselves by the fire.
Despite festive scenes such as this, the reality faced by Kyiv locals is severe, with pipes bursting from freezing water and temperatures inside apartments falling below zero.
Kyiv residents gather around a grill on January 18.
Ukrainian energy company DTEK announced on January 20 that more than 335,000 Kyiv residents were without electricity.
Another block party in a separate part of Kyiv on January 18.
A DJ at the block party attended by residents affected by power outages in Kyiv.
Women dance during the street party.
Andriy Herus, head of the Ukrainian parliament's Energy, Housing, and Communal Services Committee, told RFE/RL that amid forecasts for continued harsh weather, the coming weeks will be intensely difficult.
A monument to Volodymyr the Great in Kyiv as the sun rises on January 18.
"The next 30 days will be difficult for us," Herus said. "I sometimes hear that from a certain point or a week after that point, it will get better, but then at the end of such statements they add in small letters: 'provided that there is no new shelling.' But there is a high probability of new Russian shelling."