As key buildings, including the Parliament, suffer from blackouts, finding light, in the figurative and literal sense, becomes a challenge.Kyiv, Ukraine – The rattle of multiple petrol generators sounded out across the historic neighbourhood of Podil as people attempted to traverse the icy streets in near darkness.About half the capital’s homes are without heating or power after large Russian aerial strikes on Ukraine targeted the country’s infrastructure in recent weeks.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listTemperatures sit well below freezing.Yet as an air raid siren blares, young people in Kyiv gathered in a row of cafes and bars. Generators are able to provide heating, light and music. Independence Square in Kyiv is in almost complete darkness after mass attacks on energy infrastructure [Nils Adler/Al Jazeera]“It’s really important for the youth to meet up and do stuff together so we don’t break down mentally,” Karina Sema, a 24-year-old journalist, told Al Jazeera.She pulled out her phone and showed a video filmed the day before. About 100 people can be seen gathering in torchlight around a speaker, singing along to a track called All I Need Is Your Love Tonight.The latest large-scale attack was on Tuesday night, when Russia fired drones and ballistic missiles across the country, plunging the city, including the Ukrainian Parliament, into darkness just as repair crews had begun to restore parts of the grid after an assault earlier in January.State of emergencyRepeated attacks have pushed President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to issue a state of emergency in the energy sector. He has accused Russia of deliberately exploiting the bitter cold snap as a weapon of war. Advertisement United Nations h …
