Ivan Verstyuk

After living for a week with no electricity, no water and no heating - I can't use the word 'resilience' anymore. Resilience has its limits. It's kind of strange to live in the Stone Age conditions in 2026. I don't believe there's no way out of this crisis.

Kyiv municipal authority is desperate about the water supply in our city. Repairs are difficult and costly. With deficit of energy, water system just doesn't work. Nobody seems to know what to do. Kyiv inherited the water system from Soviet Union, it's old and needs investments.

EU has transferred another 4.4 billion euros for Ukraine. However, the problems we have in Ukraine don't seem to be potentially solved with money. No matter how much money you have, army will absorb them all. Economy, people's earnings are not a priority for the current govt.

Ukrainians expect US Democrats to approve more military funding, but if this isn't going to happen - dissatisfaction about Democrats will be massive. With very little control over what the Ukrainian government is doing, Ukrainians still hope international partners will help.

On a cold morning in Kyiv - no electricity, no water, no heating - local radio is offering us classics from Ricky Martin. Living la vida loca. I wish I could be in one of those places where Ricky is from - in the Carribbean, with lots of electricity, water, heat, no war around.

Humanitarian crisis in Kyiv. No water supply across the city. Electricity is available only for 1.5-3 hours per day. Repairs are taking too much time and so far haven't brought substantial results. Government is focused on EU integration and diplomacy.

Zelensky's government is overwhelmed with large-scale problems. Huge losses of people daily. Scandal in Borshchagivka, where men were held in a prison-like facility against their will. Electricity crisis in Kyiv, Dnipro, Odesa. But Zelensky is focused on his fruitless diplomacy.

Ukrainians expect Democrats to take over the Congress and pressure Trump on all the political issues. This might be naive, but Ukrainians hope Democrats will approve more US weapons for Ukraine - so the Ukrainian army could keep fighting for 2-3 more years.

This picture reflects what I've been thinking about. Politicians are living their best lives, while someone has to do the actual fighting. Get wounded, get killed. So much inequality here in Ukraine. Elites have everything, ordinary people have to suffer.

Electricity situation in Kyiv remains incredibly hard. We're not being offered serious, detailed explanations from the government about what went wrong. Energy companies say they keep working 24/7, but the result still isn't here. It's also getting substantially colder.

Deep electricity crisis in Kyiv. It's not winter yet, but the energy situation is quite bad. Government failed to prepare the energy system for the cold months, though partners have provided lots of money and equipment for this. Quality of governance in Ukraine is very poor.

At least 13 people killed in Dnipro in a missile strike. Local railway station was under attack. This will create more refugees - many would prefer to get abroad or at least relocate to western Ukraine. Also, Ukrainians would like to know more what's up with air defense now.

Zelensky went to the Netherlands to see their prime minister. On this photo, you may see how glad he is. Netherlands will be providing money. Lately, Zelensky had a meeting with prime minister of Moldova and a call with president of Estonia - but no money was promised there.

Russian missile hit the southern metro bridge in Kyiv which will lead to a deep transportation crisis. Precision of this strike is enormous. Missile hit the bridge right at the center of it, while it was launched hundreds or thousands kilometers away.

Revelations on how Zelensky rejected peace deal in 2023 came as uncomfortable truth to some Ukrainians. This is why they tend to think that the report is either untrue or is a manipulation. Because it ruins Zelensky's narrative that is currently basis for Ukraine's foreign policy

Hungarian prime minister Peter Magyar is showing off European vibe. Ukrainians feel jealous. We can't go to restaurants like this, can't enjoy life. Soldiers have to live in trenches, civilians are being hunted by military police. Quality of life in the EU is unbelievable.

Politicians stopped being creative. They just need to blame someone for all the problems. Trump blames Zelensky. Zelensky blames Trump and Putin. Putin blames Europe. Europe blames Putin and Trump. It's just easier this way. You don't need to do anything else, just keep blaming.

Europe is recommending Ukrainians to follow Zelensky in whatever he says and does. What Zelensky has managed to achieve is that he's very predictable. He won't be changing his his views. However, Ukrainians still can't understand why Zelensky is so opposite to who he was in 2019.

Judging by how many appearances Zelensky is making on the screens of Europe and America, he's up to serious struggle against Trump and MAGA. Zelensky really invests himself in this - expecting he would get a reward.

This is so hard for many Ukrainians who have teen kids. You constantly have to ask yourself: "Do you want your young son to end up in frontline trenches?". If nothing changes, that's what will be happening. A young generation of Ukrainians will have to devote their lives to war.