Nuncio to Ukraine: 'We are wounded but God is with us

Six thousand buildings in Kyiv have been without heating since January 9, following a massive attack by Russia.

As of midday Friday, heating was off in around 100 buildings in the Ukrainian capital, according to Mayor Vitaliy Klychko, who pointed out that municipal engineers are working around the clock to restore heating in all buildings.

“The energy supply situation, on which the supply of household utilities depends, remains very difficult. Kyiv is still experiencing power blackouts,” Mr. Klychko added on Telegram.

During a press conference after the meeting with Czech President Petr Pavel, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed his gratitude to the teams that work tirelessly every day to repair energy infrastructures.

“We are constantly working on restoring the power plants and increasing imports and technical capabilities, which were also destroyed by daily Russian attacks,” said the president.

Speaking to Vatican News, Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas, Apostolic Nuncio to Ukraine, described the current situation and the challenges facing the population.

Q: Given the energy crisis affecting various regions of Ukraine, including the capital, how are the citizens of Kyiv doing, and how are you at the Nunciature?

Now, because of the war, there is a severe power shortage as a consequence of the bombings that hit cities and towns. With January's cold weather causing temperatures to drop to twenty degrees below zero at night, we are facing a difficult situation, particularly in Kyiv. 

I have been told by bishops, priests and faithful that also in western regions there is a lack of electricity. I have heard from many people that they only have light for 3 hours every day.

Kharkiv has a similar situation where families experience two-day periods without electricity or heating. This means that even bakers often are not able to bake bread, and the same happens with other types of food.

So, food shortages are being caused by this energy crisis, apart from the difficulties faced by civilians due to the cold. This seems to have some resemblance to the Holodomor that Ukraine went through in the 1930s.

We have our own generator at the Nunciature, which means we can have more light, water, and heating than the others. If the situation remains unchanged, it is possible that the entire Ukrainian capital would need to be evacuated, as the mayor of Kyiv said a few days ago.