After numerous Russian missile and drone strikes damaged energy facilities across Ukraine in recent weeks, cities and towns are coping with electrical shortages that range from limited power cuts to full blackouts. In the capital city of Kyiv, residents are trying to continue their normal lives, wearing headlamps at night, lighting candles, and running generators where necessary. Utility workers are trying to repair and replace what they can before winter sets in—while still under threat of further attacks.
Missile Strikes Leave Kyiv in the Dark
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![A fruit stand is lit by two small lamps on a very dark street.]()
Read moreBattery-powered lights illuminate a fruit stand during a power outage in central Kyiv, Ukraine, on November 9, 2022. #
Bernat Armangue / AP -
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![A night view of city buildings, mostly dark, with a small scattering of windows showing light.]()
Read moreApartment blocks stand in near-total darkness during a scheduled power cut on the left bank of the River Dnipro in Kyiv on November 6, 2022. #
Ed Ram / Getty -
![A person stands in front of a bookshelf in the dark, reading a book lit by their headlamp.]()
Read moreThe physicist Igor Zhuk reads a book by the light of his headlamp during a power cut in his building in the north of Kyiv on November 5, 2022. #
Sergei Supinsky / AFP / Getty -
![Two men dine by candlelight in a restaurant.]()
Read moreTwo men dine by candlelight in a restaurant during a local power outage on November 8, 2022, in Kyiv. #
Ed Ram / Getty -
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![A view of buildings in Kyiv, completely dark]()
Read moreA view of Kyiv as the city was plunged into darkness following a military strike that partially brought down the power infrastructure on October 31, 2022 #
Sergei Supinsky / AFP / Getty -
![A man plays a guitar on a dark, empty street, lit by a single portable light.]()
Read moreA man plays a guitar on a dark, empty street on November 7, 2022, in Kyiv. #
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![Wreckage lies on the ground in a power substation.]()
Read moreA high-voltage substation switchyard stands partially destroyed after the Ukrenergo power station was hit by a missile strike on October 10, photographed on November 10, 2022, in central Ukraine. #
Ed Ram / Getty -
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![Two utility workers repair damaged electrical equipment.]()
Read moreWorkers repair infrastructure in a power station that was damaged by a Russian air attack, in Kyiv Oblast, on November 4, 2022. #
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![Workers stand beside large electrical equipment that has been destroyed.]()
Read moreWorkers dismantle equipment that was completely destroyed after the Ukrenergo high-voltage power substation was hit by a missile strike in October, photographed on November 10, 2022, in central Ukraine. #
Ed Ram / Getty -
![Older people line up at outside a stand, waiting for soup and hot food.]()
Read morePensioners line up for free soup, bread, and hot food at a stand run by a charity called Enjoying Life, in Kyiv, on November 7, 2022. #
Ed Ram / Getty -
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![Three people work together to place the last rice they have into a container to hand out.]()
Read moreWorkers scrape out the last of the rice as pensioners wait for free hot food at a stand run by the charity Enjoying Life, on November 7, 2022. #
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![Two people stand in an apartment block hallway, at a door, lit only by a flashlight.]()
Read moreIT workers Alina and Igor enter their apartment block in near-total darkness during a scheduled power cut in Kyiv on November 6, 2022. #
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![Two people work on a jigsaw puzzle lit by a small lamp, in a dark apartment.]()
Read moreAlina and Igor pass the time working on a jigsaw puzzle in their dark apartment during a scheduled power cut on November 6, 2022. #
Ed Ram / Getty -
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![A person washes dishes by candlelight.]()
Read moreIren Rozdobudko, a 60-year-old writer and lecturer, cleans dishes by candlelight during a power cut in Kyiv on November 5, 2022. #
Sergei Supinsky / AFP / Getty -
![Two people with flashlights walk through a dark apartment courtyard.]()
Read moreLocal residents light their way as they walk in the dark courtyard of an apartment building during a power outage in Kyiv on November 9, 2022. #
Gleb Garanich / Reuters -
![Camping lights illuminate a shop selling socks during a power outage.]()
Read moreCamping lights illuminate a shop during a power outage in downtown Kyiv on November 8, 2022. #
Bernat Armangue / AP -
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![A person sits in a cafe, lit by candlelight.]()
Read moreA woman sits in a café during a blackout in Kyiv on November 4, 2022. #
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![A very dark image, with only the headlamp, jacket, and purse of a walking person visible.]()
Read moreA woman with a headlamp walks in the dark in one of Kyiv's residential quarters during a power outage in the city on October 24, 2022. #
Elizabeth Servatynska / Suspilne Ukraine / Global Images Ukraine / Getty
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