FREEZING BUT FREE

I am writing from Kyiv, where the temperature in my apartment barely reaches 40°F.

- BY DARIA KOLOMIEC

A memorial for fallen soldiers in Kyiv's Independence Square on Feb. 24

I sleep in thermal underwear, an insulated tracksuit, and a winter hat. Recently, I added gloves. Russian attacks have destroyed 80% of our energy and heat infrastructure, working to keep Ukraine cold in what is apparently an attempt to turn us against one another. Instead, neighbors cook borscht for the entire building.

Electricity can disappear for three days or more. Heat and water too. Compared with many, I am lucky. I have a gas stove. I am also 37 years old and have all my limbs. I can walk up the stairs to my home without an elevator and carry heavy bottles of water. I can even find a yoga studio where I shower and wash my hair. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for the elderly, for people with disabilities, for veterans without limbs (who need electricity to charge their prosthetics), or for those who have lost their homes and simply have nowhere to go.