Odessans flock to libraries and cafes in search of power amid massive power outages

Amid severe power outages, residents of the port city of Odessa in southern Ukraine are dismantling cafes and public spaces powered by generators to meet their power needs on Friday, November 25. Massive Russian missile strikes earlier in the week caused severe damage to energy infrastructure across Ukraine, including in the capital Kyiv. Officials in several major cities said the water supply had also been affected. Footage filmed by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) shows people gathered at the Odessa National Science Library. “We only sleep at home. We live here or in different cafes because we don’t have electricity; we have poor internet and poor mobile connection. Therefore, we go and look for different places where we can work and fulfill our tasks,” the man says to Radio Liberty. “The library director says she is happy that her generator is being used to help people during this difficult time.” The mayor of Odessa, Gennady Trukhanov, said that playgrounds were also installed throughout the city, dubbed “points of invincibility,” where residents could “warm up, charge gadgets, drink tea or coffee, feed a child.” “The points are equipped with everything necessary to meet basic needs,” he said. Credit: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty via Storyful