Kyiv Endures a Brutal Winter Amid Ongoing Attacks

Since Friday, January 9th, Kyiv has been gripped by one of the harshest winter waves yet, intensified by Russian attacks on civilian and energy infrastructure. Temperatures dropped suddenly, and widespread power outages have left many neighborhoods without electricity, heat, and in some cases running water. Inside most apartments, temperatures fluctuate between 15°F to 2°F, with conditions expected to persist for the next 7-10 days.

For the vulnerable people we serve through Music Mission Kiev—widows, pensioners, displaced families, and wounded soldiers—this has turned an already difficult winter into a life-threatening struggle. Our latest update is of everyone currently surviving, but we are also receiving reports of injuries from falls on icy streets and sidewalks. Many apartment buildings, constructed decades ago, lose heat quickly when power is cut. Prolonged outages, combined with snow and frozen roads, have made transportation and daily movement extremely difficult. Kyiv officials have opened emergency aid tents where residents can warm up, recharge devices, receive hot drinks, and access psychological support, even as European partners work to assist with energy shortages.

Our elderly widows sit wrapped in coats and blankets in dark apartments, receiving electricity for less than four hours a day. Thermal clothing helps only so much before these conditions begin to cost lives. Families report melting snow to flush toilets and boiling water on small gas burners when possible. Most residents have endured over seven days without reliable heat or light. Though freezing and in survival mode, many still say their solders are facing much worse.

Despite air raid sirens and icy roads, our staff and volunteers continue their work—checking on those most at-risk, delivering food, warm clothing, and fuel, and opening church spaces as places of warmth and refuge. Our mission has shifted support to purchasing gasoline and diesel to power generators for children’s schools, orphanages, and a hospital.

This crisis is deeply personal. This war has now lasted longer than the fighting between Germany and Russia during World War II, where winter proved devasting. Winter magnifies every hardship, and our team continues to press forward while also caring for their own families.

We ask you to pray with us for protection, endurance, and God’s provision. And as you are able, please consider standing with us so we can continue providing warmth, food, fuel, and hope to those who are cold, afraid, and weary. Even in the darkness, the light of Christ shines through His people in Kyiv. They are encouraged knowing many Americans support and pray for them. Lord, we beseech You, please bring an end to this war!