Humanitarian disaster in Chernihiv: no power, people cooking over fires, bodies lying around for hours

KATERYNA TYSHCHENKO - TUESDAY, 22 MARCH 2022, 16:43

Photo caption: CHERNIHIV AFTER SHELLING, PHOTO FROM STATE REGIONAL ADMINISTRATION

Chernihiv has been without power for more than a week and about half of its residents have left the city.

Source: Vladyslav Atroshenko, Mayor of Chernihiv, in an interview with Ukrainska Pravda

According to Atroshenko: "We have had no power for more than a week now. And at present we don't even have an opportunity to restore electricity. Even if it can be done technically, it will be sufficient for an hour, two at most.

It is not uncommon that during bombings, because there is simply no power in the city, and no communication, the dead just lie on the pavement for hours. Because you can' t get a call through to take the body to the morgue.

So many have already lost their jobs. And they can no longer afford to buy food. In addition, there is a lot less variety of food available in the shops, there are practically no supplies in the city.

...There is no way to store food. And people are forced to cook more food under emergency conditions. They are lighting fires in the street. It is extremely difficult because of the constant shelling. And there are problems with unsanitary conditions here as well".

Details: The mayor estimates that more than half of the residents have already left the city. Mostly people in need of care who have nowhere to go are staying. He said it was extremely difficult for the city authorities to cope with all the challenges in the city and also to help people who could not get water or medicines for themselves.

According to Atroshenko, shelling by Russian troops has increased significantly in recent days.

"The Russian army is deliberately shelling residential areas. This shelling is absolutely haphazard and is aimed at intimidating people even more," he said.

According to the mayor, there is no point in counting the number of houses destroyed in the city now because these figures change every hour.

"We have hundreds of houses destroyed in the city. Dozens of cruise missiles have been fired at us. Just so you understand, one single missile falls, and within a 30-metre radius, all the buildings collapse. Electrical wiring within a radius of 50-100 metres is blown out of the walls," he explained.

Atroshenko also noted that the city needs a lot of spare parts - for example, for the functioning of the water supply.

"These spare parts are running out, and volunteers can't help us with that. We need help from the government. We need the government to resume the supply of parts vital to the functioning of the city," he said.

The mayor of Chernihiv also said he had received proposals from the Russian military on several occasions to surrender the city.

"I send text messages like this on to the Security Service. And I don't pick up the phone from unknown numbers. There have been a couple of such offers. We receive strange text messages with strange content, and I just don't respond to them," he said.

"We will not surrender Chernihiv to anyone. I want all Ukraine to hear this," Atroshenko stressed.