Kiev residents freeze in their apartments: Why five hundred houses are still without heating.

According to ТСН: The pipes are cracking as residents try to warm themselves with gas burners. Five days after the massive attacks by the Russians, about 500 houses in Kiev remain without heating. The temperature in the apartments fluctuates between +15 and critical +5 degrees.

TSN correspondent Iryna Kondratchuk has discovered why high-rise residents are still without heating and how they survive the January frost.

“Hundreds of houses – this is false information”: What is said in the KMDA

Photos of damaged pipes and advice from Kiev residents attempting to warm themselves by heating bricks on pans have appeared on social networks. People complain about delays in restoring heating, which has led to the system freezing and breaking. However, these statements are denied at the KMDA.

Petro Panteléeva, Deputy Head of KMDA: “We do not have such a large number of houses where pipes have burst. What is said about hundreds – this is false information.”

“It’s ice inside!”: The reality of Kiev high-rises

Kiev resident Oleksii Parkhomenko, who lives on the top floor, has shown TSN what he is facing. The wind blows in his stairwell and the walls are damp due to damaged pipes.

Oleksii Parkhomenko, resident of the house: “This either happened at night or early this morning. Wow, look – it’s ice inside! It has burst somewhere above. The house is old, there is no insulation. No one cares about this; the ЖЕД has ignored the wear for decades.”

To warm up at least a little, Oleksii uses a charging station for lighting and the microwave. So far, he has found a way: he heats ceramic granite slabs on the gas stove and uses them to warm his feet.

The municipalities: “There are few plumbers, the salary is low”

Residents have been calling the hotline 1551 since the weekend. Only after journalists intervened did an emergency team arrive at the house. Plumber Oleksandr explains the situation simply.

Oleksandr Slyusar, municipal service employee: “Why did it burst? Because the lights are turned on and off. Therefore, there are few plumbers, and the salary is low.”

Engineer Viktoria Motruh points out that the residents of the top floors are partially to blame for the cold in the apartments, as they did not open the air release valves. However, experts have a different opinion.

Kristina Neno, housing expert: “The residents have nothing to do with the system draining. They do not fill the system with water and do not drain it. It’s easier to blame someone else than to take responsibility for the lack of an action plan.”

Will it get warm?

The municipalities promise to bring heat back to the apartments soon, but residents are skeptical. Oleksii Parkhomenko says that the neighbors are now planning to establish a homeowners' association to take responsibility for the maintenance of the system.

The heating situation in the houses in Kiev remains critical. Pipe damages and delays in restoring heating supply put residents in difficult conditions. People are forced to find unconventional ways to survive the frost period. The expectations for the restoration of heat and the establishment of homeowners' associations only emphasize the need to solve this problem in the housing sector.