When the Davydenko family woke up shivering in the night in winter coats and hats, buried under several layers of quilts, they knew it was time to leave their Kiev apartment, Reuters reports.
Systematic Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy grid since October last year left their 12th-floor apartment without electricity for eight days and without heating for almost two weeks.
Meanwhile, nighttime temperatures dropped to minus 20 degrees Celsius.
Parents Julija and Denis, both in their forties, packed their belongings, along with their three small children, two cats and two dogs, and looked for an alternative place to sleep.
The choice fell on the family-run "Piggy Cafe Kyiv", with generator power and heating, where customers were allowed to pet seven little piglets to relax from the stresses of war.
After the last guest leaves and the cafe closes for the day, Julia and Denis unroll the mattresses and make a bed on the floor for their sons Maksim (11) and Timofi (6), six, and their two-year-old daughter Stefani.
"The point at which we would decide to leave Kiev again would be when Russian troops were 10-12 kilometers from the city. That's it," Yulia told Reuters reporters, who spent three days with the family to document how they coped with the extreme cold amid airstrikes.
The Davydenkos left the country at the very beginning of the invasion, as Russian forces approached the capital in 2022. Since returning from Europe, they have been determined to stay.
Such defiance is common across Kiev and Ukraine, where many residents say they will never leave their country, a sentiment that is prompting President Volodymyr Zelensky to oppose maximalist Russian demands in ongoing peace talks, according to Reuters.
Now, in the evening, cats, dogs and piglets roam the cafe until they settle into their beds, and sometimes even snuggle up with the family.
Coping with freezing temperatures
But there is little escape from the harsh cold, because it seeps into everything.
In the apartment in the Trojeshchina neighborhood, northeast of Kiev, to which the family returns every few days, the laundry takes days to dry, and even then it feels damp. It is often too cold to even sit on the toilet. Showering is out of the question.
During a recent visit, the temperature in the kitchen was two degrees, and ice was forming on the inside of the windows. As the couple talked, steam was coming out of their mouths.
As a treat, the Davidenkos visited the sauna, to the delight of the children, for whom the twist still has the thrill of adventure.
"Maxim likes it. He actually says that at home we have to do housework. Now there's no washing dishes, no cleaning, no walking the dogs. So he's happy about that," Denis joked about their new reality.
At home, the family cannot prepare meals properly. At the cafe, they eat marshmallows dipped in cocoa and takeout.
With their own business and access to full-time education for their sons, the Davydenkos are better off than many in Kiev.
Waves of Russian attacks over the past four months have left hundreds of thousands of people without electricity and water, making this winter the most devastating since the war began for the city's three million residents.
Some are leaving, some are forced to endure near-zero temperatures at home, while others rely on friends or shelter in large heated tents set up across the city.
Russia denies targeting civilians and says its missile and drone strikes are aimed at weakening the Ukrainian military. However, these attacks have caused massive civilian casualties.
Major bombing? "Nothing serious"
Russian attacks on Ukraine's power grid are nothing new. But this winter, the scale is bigger and the temperatures are lower.
After a particularly severe attack on January 20, 5.635 apartment blocks, or almost half of the total in Kiev, lost their heating, according to the infrastructure ministry. At one point, about a million consumers were simultaneously disconnected from the grid, according to an industry source.
The Davidenkos' property is located just four kilometers from a large thermal power plant, which has been the main target of Russian attacks since the fall of 2025.
Despite the increased bombing, the Davydenkos hope for the best while preparing for the worst.
"No big deal. We'll install a wood-burning stove," said Julia when asked about her plan.
On the morning of Reuters' last day with his family, Russia fired 71 missiles and 450 drones into Ukraine in one of the largest single barrages of the war. Much of that firepower was again aimed at Kiev's energy system.
Julija and Denis said they woke up to the sound of explosions and windows rattling. The heating was also gone in the cafe.
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