Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: United Nations – United Nations –
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December 17, 2025 Humanitarian aid
Imagine living in a war zone and unable to cook or heat your home. For tens of thousands of Ukrainians, this is the reality today: UN Humanitarian Coordinator Matthias Schmale reported that half of the city of Kherson's population – 30,000 or more people – have been without electricity for several days.
Kherson isn't the only city without power, he said in an interview with the UN News Service on Wednesday during his trip to southern Ukraine. "The main problem is how to support people when the power is out for several days in a row, or even more than a week, as is currently happening, for example, in Odesa," he noted.
"The authorities are fairly confident they can handle a power outage lasting a few hours or even a couple of days. But outages lasting more than a week pose significant challenges," Shmale added.
© UKGV
Matthias Schmale with an elderly resident of Kherson.
According to the UN Coordinator, to overcome the energy crisis, it is necessary to provide schools and health facilities with generators and sufficient fuel supplies so that people can gather there in the event of a crisis.
"Almost everything is destroyed"
On Wednesday, Matthias Schmale visited frontline Kherson and met with residents at the UN humanitarian hub where people come to seek aid. One woman, a power plant employee, told him she was afraid to go to work because of the shelling of energy facilities.
She says there are only five houses left on her street where people still live, and "almost everything is destroyed." But she has no plans to leave.
© UKGV
A woman came to the UN humanitarian hub for help.
"I don't even think about it. My house, my dogs, my cats. The neighbors left after their houses were damaged. They left their dog for a week. They've been gone for three years," she said.
Another woman the Humanitarian Coordinator met with said she was from the island district of Kherson and lived without gas—she had no way to heat her home or cook. Ten days ago, her mother died in the hospital after stepping on a mine. Six months earlier, her husband was killed in Mykolaiv while riding public transportation during a drone attack.
Remembering everyone she had lost, the woman burst into tears and said she was afraid she would never be able to return home.
"I prefer to smile than to cry."
"Kherson used to be a very industrial city, but that's no longer the case," said another retiree. In her youth, she worked manufacturing meteorological instruments for marine vessels.
Matthias Schmale noted her sense of humor, despite the difficult circumstances. "I prefer smiling to crying. I've had enough time to cry," she replied.
“I just want to go home and die,” the woman added with bitterness in her voice.
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