Wintry weather has already come to Ukraine’s capital Kyiv. Night time temperatures are dipping below zero.<br /><br />The heating is normally turned on across the country by mid-October but the move was delayed because of concerns over future gas supplies.<br /><br />Kyiv resident Sergiy Popov said: “My radiator is cold and it stays cold. When you come home in the evening, and no one has switched on either the kitchen stove or heater – it’s very hard to be in the apartment. I’m afraid to take my clothes off – because you can really feel this cold.”<br /><br />In Donetsk in the war-torn east of Ukraine, people are praying for a warm winter and an end to war. Many homes are already without electricity and gas shortages would mean even more hardship ahead.<br /><br />Donetsk resident Anastasia Gushchina fears her damaged house won’t last the winter: “The whole place is going to collapse under the weight of the snow if it’s not repaired before winter. Snow, frost, then it all will melt and collapse.”<br /><br />It is estimated that around ten percent of the city has been destroyed.<br /><br />With energy companies warning the country does not have enough gas to survive the cold season, Ukrainians can only hope their leaders will resolve the dispute soon.
