'We've already gotten used to everything...'

As raids target Kyiv’s power supply, citizens remain defiant

- JOHN MARONE

Blacked-out underground area in Kyiv and, far right, no traffic lights due to outage yesterday

(Picture: SERGEI GAPON / AFP)

SEVERAL weeks now into a brutally severe winter that has seen the Ukrainian capital left cold and dark as a result of relentless Russian air attacks, Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko has repeatedly urged his fellow citizens to seek more comfortable conditions elsewhere.

“The situation in Kyiv is extremely difficult and it could get worse,” the mayor warned.

But Kyivans are having none of it.

“We are here until the end,” said Dmytro, a Ukrainian army officer, in a laconic military fashion.

He was standing in Independence Square, enjoying a brilliantly sunny day with his family, the pavement around them covered in thick ice.

And he is not alone in his resolve.

Darya, who works at a small shop beneath the square which serves coffee and freshly made buns, is also carrying on, despite crippling heat and power outages.