The citizens in that city may be more accustomed to these issues and may be far more resilient than what Gonzalo is experiencing. Meaning, he’s a typical Westerners with consistent access to laptops, computers, all the tech gadgets.
What it tells some of us, is that Westerners are far too tightly connected to technology and have always been able to access items for daily living.
We feel very sorry for Ukrainians and what they are having to experience at the hands of people who have perpetrated these tragedies.
The largest blame needs to be directed to the Neo-cons in the US State Department and other power centers; most especially, The FED and its Financial System who have produced far too many Multi-billionaires in the form of Monopolists. These people hold such disdain towards the poor, and average citizens struggling economically because of the US’ Financial/Military Hegemon.
Gonzalo- a recommendation. If there’s camping/outdoor store there, go and buy a few battery-operated lanterns to help see you through the winter.
With the absence of electricity to heat water or run a coffeemaker, I would imagine instant coffee would be suddenly hard to find on the store shelves.
Lack of fresh brewed morning java could have filtered into the gloominess of Gonzalo’s video. A sudden reevaluation of what is important in life.
The logistics involved in purchasing a lantern might go something like this: Most people in Europe live in flats/ apartments.. In central and eastern Europe, many of those are Soviet-era panel blocks, which can be as many as 18 floors.. Ever had to climb stairs, one or more times a day, since the elevators are dead? It is quite a chore, even if you live on a lower floor..
So you make it down to the street, where public transportation is most likely not running.. You can’t access cash, since the ATMs are not working, but you somehow make it to a shop, but the cash registers are also not working, so an unofficial cash purchase is required, if you have the cash.. The shops are quickly sold out of inventory, since ordering from the warehouse is also hardly possible without electricity..
Well, as of today, the shops in Kiev had no bread, but if you were lucky enough to purchase a lantern, you get to somehow make it back home; to climb those stinking stairs again..
The most basic human activities have turned into an ordeal, and for how much longer?
Benefits of modern civilization forms addiction, not unlike that of recreational drugs. Especially social networks, which has addiction potential of heroin.
Potential for political manipulation is immense and well known, but effects of withdrawal crisis are not.
What happened to Ukraine population is a cold-turkey detox.
Extreme mood swings and off the chart rage is to be expected.
Ukraine regime will found out that mass brainwashing wasn’t good idea at all.
He reminded me of Texas in February ’21. A colossal ice storm shredded the Texas grid. It was cold, and dark at night. Stores were closed. We bundled up and went to bed at 6 PM. Pipes burst, and the water system was offline. (at least the gas was still on, this being Texas — we could light the kitchen stove with a match and get a little heat) Of course, affluent Texas did not suffer as much uncertainty as Kharkov — we waited for workmen to reconnect our electric and water service, and the cold snap passed in a few days.
On a couple of occasions in the last two months, I have asked in Saker forums why the lights appeared to be still on in the suburbs of Kiev. This time, they are dark: https://go.nasa.gov/3fPLqw1
By now, I expect another round of missile strikes, once the Russian MoD has figured out how emergency power is being routed.
And don’t worry Gonzalo, the Russians will hook up your electric service just as soon as the SMO is complete!
I’ve never been one for celebrating other peoples’ misery/misfortune (except in a tribal sporting sense like most fans who feel jubilation when their rivals are beaten), however, what’s pissed me off most with this western inspired war is the fact that up until only very recently parts of Ukraine have gone about their business, for 8 long years, while the people of Donbass have been pummelled day in, day out.
Now that Kiev (and other western Ukrainian cities are suffering, I’ve perked up considerably. I’ll perk up even more when Europeans feel the consequences of their government’s actions, and more so, when America self-destructs.
A house dies in winter freeze when the electricity goes out.
On Long Island, New York, heating is commonly by either oil fired or gas fired furnaces. Modern versions of these systems require electricity to operate. Drives for energy efficiency and convenience replaced pilot lights with electronic igniters. You may have fuel, but the more modern your setup, the less likely your setup will function.
When we lose electricity here, most of us lose heat, as well as lighting, as well as cooking. Failure of electric stoves is obvious. Modern gas stoves don’t have pilot lights.
A 100 year old gas burner with a pilot light would work fine as long as gas was available. The same with an old Wedgewood stove.
A wood burning stove is a good idea, but these clunky appliances are inconsistent with urban living.
Without heating, in winter, the water pipes in the house freeze and consequently rupture. The mess comes with thaw. Valves, including ball valves will rupture too. Water frozen in toilets can crack the bowl and crack the tank.
There is a procedure for winterizing a house, which is known to people who have cottages in the country that they only use in the summer. Cut of the water supply yourself, with a valve below the frost line. drain all of the pipes, hot water, cold water, the hydronic heating water circulation pipes. Drain the water heater. Drain the furnace boiler. Drain the toilet tank and put antifreeze in the bowl and in all traps. Drain the water lines to the refrigerator. And so forth.
If Russia finds it necessary to degrade the USA’s ability to wage war, they won’t have to nuke New York City, etc. All they have to do is destroy the electrical grid,
I totally agree with your observations. People in the US are not prepared for hardships of any type. In my suburb In the North of the country, we have 80 year old above ground electrical wires and poles that are not maintained. Power goes out usually every winter and every summer. A year ago, in November the power went out for about 12 hours; it got cold enough inside to wear jackets. I have a gas generator as I have a son that uses medical equipment. The neighbor three houses down came over with a cup of hot chocolate he asked me to heat up for his wife. I am under no disillusionment that I am prepared for more than a three day power outage in the winter.
I also co-owned a cottage for about 17 years and everything you have mentioned about saving your home is what we had to do every winter.
People have no idea what it will take to survive. Extended outages will mean civil unrest and the need to protect what you have. Imagine hearing a generator or seeing lights on in a home when you are cold and starving. That will invite looting. I am prepared to defend my home.
Why are the Ukranian civilians not storming the government yet? Are they that afraid of military? I sure would hope brave people would take control in exigent circumstances.
Very interesting Gonzalo. The moaning by the Ukrainians started right from the start of the SMO. The fact that water, food, fuel, internet and civilian life was purposely NOT damaged, and that life was able to continue normally was NEVER part of the Western news, but so many incidents were twisted or fabricated into “atrocities by Russia” of course on kindergartens, maternity hospitals, apartment blocks. All were accepted without any opposition by every Western media outlet. Even now, when finally ONE or two lies from Saint Zelinskyy are exposed, we are expected to believe that the Russian assault on the electric grid knocked down apartment blocks, when the S300 remains were found there (ie the “defenses” against Russia were what actually damaged the buildings). Now that Russia is finally reacting, the people seem amazed and shocked. Soon we will have millions more “welcomed” by Ursula in the thriving EU!!!
I feel sorry for the normal Ukrainians suffering under the Fascists,also interested what damage the power cuts will do to any Ukrainian logistics and troop movements?
Eight months in, logistics, you mean like moving military stuff by rail. Men and equipment still flow by rail to the front, for the most part, unhindered.
I would not be surprised if the Electric Locomotives have been refitted with their own generators. There is no shortage of pictures on social media of men and equipment moving to the front by train.
So a better, more pragmatic question would be, Why, why have the rail lines not been destroyed from the start of the SMO…..and I don’t buy the demilitarization crap at this point. The Ukraine was defanged in the first eight weeks.
Thousands dead on both sides……yet commerce took precedence…..just shows, no matter which side of the SMO fence one stands by, no matter where one lives, or by whom one is ruled……human life, is expendable for a pri$e.
Lol, my brother who is in the construction trades at the end of a shift in a condo high rise in Toronto got locked out of the elevator at the end of a work day. Security never bothered to check off all the names. Poor brother had to descend almost 40 floors of stairs which took almost 3plus hours. He hates condos and laughs at those wanting the beautiful views spending upwards of a million for a hole in a wall!! When the lights go out thise living in the penthouses had better have helicopters or parachutes! Lol
That doesn’t add up to me. I’m thinking 30 seconds to go down a flight of stairs one story, but even at a liesurely minute each, that’s only 40 minutes. When the big blackout hit in 1965 (when I was much younger and in better shape — about 18) I was stuck in the city and could not get back to NJ until the next day, so I walked from lower Manhatten uptown to my fathers apartment and went up the 23 floors to where it was — which took me about 10 minutes. There has to be more to this.
I had no problem, a few year later, when staffing at a summer camp, walking a 1/2 mile, mile, or so, up hill to meetings,my campsite, and so forth, from spending time with campers But when you get old and decrepit, there’s another story altogether.
At the apartment, he didn’t run out of water before the power returned next day, but it was a hazard — it had to be pumped up to the tank on the roof. There were no traffic lights, but volunteer people came out and directed traffic, and there was some light from the cars in the street. Inside people used candles. It’s not hard to live without electricty,gas, or oil if one is set up for it, as a couple of centuries ago, but now everything has shifted to be dependent on it in many places — don’t even have fireplaces or wood stoves, or horses for transportation, and most people don’t know the old-time living skills or have the tools or equipment for it — but even then life was harder and took up a lot of time in a day.
The latest quote from Z’s wife stated: “For all Ukrainians in the most deprived regions, ” Zelensky’s wife Elena says that “over 90 percent of those surveyed said they were willing to put up with” the disappearance of heat and electricity “for two or three years if they saw the prospect of our membership in the European Union”
Our Italian friend quoted her saying at the end, “All this is Putin’s fault.”
What “survey?” There were no surveys conducted. Lies, lies, lies.
They failed to mention that the surveyors had Nazi tatoos, Azov insignia and AK-47s around their neck.
Her statement is among the dumbest I’ve ever heard. Obviously she has not been without electricity more than a few hours in her entire life. Also a total lack of understanding of how modern civilization works. Obviously easy to talk bullshit, when your laying next to the pool, enjoying a drink while getting a tan in your Florida mansion.
In 2004, a category 4 hurricane made landfall on the town I was living in at the time. There was no electricity for almost two weeks. The Salvation Army supplied ice and water at their depot. No grocery stores, no gas stations, NOTHING. One had to drive for many miles to find an open store. It’s things like this that brings it all home to a person, makes you resilient. The other option is to run. Can’t fault a person who does that, everyone’s circumstances are different. Can you imagine living in south Florida in the middle of August with no air condition, no running water, not even a fan? It was brutal during the afternoon hours at first. Over time though, your body begins to adapt to the heat {but not the lack of water}.
The citizens in that city may be more accustomed to these issues and may be far more resilient than what Gonzalo is experiencing. Meaning, he’s a typical Westerners with consistent access to laptops, computers, all the tech gadgets.
What it tells some of us, is that Westerners are far too tightly connected to technology and have always been able to access items for daily living.
We feel very sorry for Ukrainians and what they are having to experience at the hands of people who have perpetrated these tragedies.
The largest blame needs to be directed to the Neo-cons in the US State Department and other power centers; most especially, The FED and its Financial System who have produced far too many Multi-billionaires in the form of Monopolists. These people hold such disdain towards the poor, and average citizens struggling economically because of the US’ Financial/Military Hegemon.
Gonzalo- a recommendation. If there’s camping/outdoor store there, go and buy a few battery-operated lanterns to help see you through the winter.
With the absence of electricity to heat water or run a coffeemaker, I would imagine instant coffee would be suddenly hard to find on the store shelves.
Lack of fresh brewed morning java could have filtered into the gloominess of Gonzalo’s video. A sudden reevaluation of what is important in life.
The logistics involved in purchasing a lantern might go something like this: Most people in Europe live in flats/ apartments.. In central and eastern Europe, many of those are Soviet-era panel blocks, which can be as many as 18 floors.. Ever had to climb stairs, one or more times a day, since the elevators are dead? It is quite a chore, even if you live on a lower floor..
So you make it down to the street, where public transportation is most likely not running.. You can’t access cash, since the ATMs are not working, but you somehow make it to a shop, but the cash registers are also not working, so an unofficial cash purchase is required, if you have the cash.. The shops are quickly sold out of inventory, since ordering from the warehouse is also hardly possible without electricity..
Well, as of today, the shops in Kiev had no bread, but if you were lucky enough to purchase a lantern, you get to somehow make it back home; to climb those stinking stairs again..
The most basic human activities have turned into an ordeal, and for how much longer?
Benefits of modern civilization forms addiction, not unlike that of recreational drugs. Especially social networks, which has addiction potential of heroin.
Potential for political manipulation is immense and well known, but effects of withdrawal crisis are not.
What happened to Ukraine population is a cold-turkey detox.
Extreme mood swings and off the chart rage is to be expected.
Ukraine regime will found out that mass brainwashing wasn’t good idea at all.
Always good to hear from you, Gonzalo. Thanks for this update.
This illustrates the importance of having an old style radio laying about.
On some of the band you would be able to pick up news of the world, probably local news.
If you experiance total radio silence on the other hand, it would be a very ominus sign.
He reminded me of Texas in February ’21. A colossal ice storm shredded the Texas grid. It was cold, and dark at night. Stores were closed. We bundled up and went to bed at 6 PM. Pipes burst, and the water system was offline. (at least the gas was still on, this being Texas — we could light the kitchen stove with a match and get a little heat) Of course, affluent Texas did not suffer as much uncertainty as Kharkov — we waited for workmen to reconnect our electric and water service, and the cold snap passed in a few days.
On a couple of occasions in the last two months, I have asked in Saker forums why the lights appeared to be still on in the suburbs of Kiev. This time, they are dark:
https://go.nasa.gov/3fPLqw1
By now, I expect another round of missile strikes, once the Russian MoD has figured out how emergency power is being routed.
And don’t worry Gonzalo, the Russians will hook up your electric service just as soon as the SMO is complete!
I’ve never been one for celebrating other peoples’ misery/misfortune (except in a tribal sporting sense like most fans who feel jubilation when their rivals are beaten), however, what’s pissed me off most with this western inspired war is the fact that up until only very recently parts of Ukraine have gone about their business, for 8 long years, while the people of Donbass have been pummelled day in, day out.
Now that Kiev (and other western Ukrainian cities are suffering, I’ve perked up considerably. I’ll perk up even more when Europeans feel the consequences of their government’s actions, and more so, when America self-destructs.
A house dies in winter freeze when the electricity goes out.
On Long Island, New York, heating is commonly by either oil fired or gas fired furnaces. Modern versions of these systems require electricity to operate. Drives for energy efficiency and convenience replaced pilot lights with electronic igniters. You may have fuel, but the more modern your setup, the less likely your setup will function.
When we lose electricity here, most of us lose heat, as well as lighting, as well as cooking. Failure of electric stoves is obvious. Modern gas stoves don’t have pilot lights.
A 100 year old gas burner with a pilot light would work fine as long as gas was available. The same with an old Wedgewood stove.
A wood burning stove is a good idea, but these clunky appliances are inconsistent with urban living.
Without heating, in winter, the water pipes in the house freeze and consequently rupture. The mess comes with thaw. Valves, including ball valves will rupture too. Water frozen in toilets can crack the bowl and crack the tank.
There is a procedure for winterizing a house, which is known to people who have cottages in the country that they only use in the summer. Cut of the water supply yourself, with a valve below the frost line. drain all of the pipes, hot water, cold water, the hydronic heating water circulation pipes. Drain the water heater. Drain the furnace boiler. Drain the toilet tank and put antifreeze in the bowl and in all traps. Drain the water lines to the refrigerator. And so forth.
If Russia finds it necessary to degrade the USA’s ability to wage war, they won’t have to nuke New York City, etc. All they have to do is destroy the electrical grid,
We don’t even consider how vulnerable we are.
I totally agree with your observations. People in the US are not prepared for hardships of any type. In my suburb In the North of the country, we have 80 year old above ground electrical wires and poles that are not maintained. Power goes out usually every winter and every summer. A year ago, in November the power went out for about 12 hours; it got cold enough inside to wear jackets. I have a gas generator as I have a son that uses medical equipment. The neighbor three houses down came over with a cup of hot chocolate he asked me to heat up for his wife. I am under no disillusionment that I am prepared for more than a three day power outage in the winter.
I also co-owned a cottage for about 17 years and everything you have mentioned about saving your home is what we had to do every winter.
People have no idea what it will take to survive. Extended outages will mean civil unrest and the need to protect what you have. Imagine hearing a generator or seeing lights on in a home when you are cold and starving. That will invite looting. I am prepared to defend my home.
Why are the Ukranian civilians not storming the government yet? Are they that afraid of military? I sure would hope brave people would take control in exigent circumstances.
Very interesting Gonzalo. The moaning by the Ukrainians started right from the start of the SMO. The fact that water, food, fuel, internet and civilian life was purposely NOT damaged, and that life was able to continue normally was NEVER part of the Western news, but so many incidents were twisted or fabricated into “atrocities by Russia” of course on kindergartens, maternity hospitals, apartment blocks. All were accepted without any opposition by every Western media outlet. Even now, when finally ONE or two lies from Saint Zelinskyy are exposed, we are expected to believe that the Russian assault on the electric grid knocked down apartment blocks, when the S300 remains were found there (ie the “defenses” against Russia were what actually damaged the buildings). Now that Russia is finally reacting, the people seem amazed and shocked. Soon we will have millions more “welcomed” by Ursula in the thriving EU!!!
I feel sorry for the normal Ukrainians suffering under the Fascists,also interested what damage the power cuts will do to any Ukrainian logistics and troop movements?
Eight months in, logistics, you mean like moving military stuff by rail. Men and equipment still flow by rail to the front, for the most part, unhindered.
I would not be surprised if the Electric Locomotives have been refitted with their own generators. There is no shortage of pictures on social media of men and equipment moving to the front by train.
So a better, more pragmatic question would be, Why, why have the rail lines not been destroyed from the start of the SMO…..and I don’t buy the demilitarization crap at this point. The Ukraine was defanged in the first eight weeks.
Thousands dead on both sides……yet commerce took precedence…..just shows, no matter which side of the SMO fence one stands by, no matter where one lives, or by whom one is ruled……human life, is expendable for a pri$e.
Cheers M
Lol, my brother who is in the construction trades at the end of a shift in a condo high rise in Toronto got locked out of the elevator at the end of a work day. Security never bothered to check off all the names. Poor brother had to descend almost 40 floors of stairs which took almost 3plus hours. He hates condos and laughs at those wanting the beautiful views spending upwards of a million for a hole in a wall!! When the lights go out thise living in the penthouses had better have helicopters or parachutes! Lol
That doesn’t add up to me. I’m thinking 30 seconds to go down a flight of stairs one story, but even at a liesurely minute each, that’s only 40 minutes. When the big blackout hit in 1965 (when I was much younger and in better shape — about 18) I was stuck in the city and could not get back to NJ until the next day, so I walked from lower Manhatten uptown to my fathers apartment and went up the 23 floors to where it was — which took me about 10 minutes. There has to be more to this.
I had no problem, a few year later, when staffing at a summer camp, walking a 1/2 mile, mile, or so, up hill to meetings,my campsite, and so forth, from spending time with campers But when you get old and decrepit, there’s another story altogether.
At the apartment, he didn’t run out of water before the power returned next day, but it was a hazard — it had to be pumped up to the tank on the roof. There were no traffic lights, but volunteer people came out and directed traffic, and there was some light from the cars in the street. Inside people used candles. It’s not hard to live without electricty,gas, or oil if one is set up for it, as a couple of centuries ago, but now everything has shifted to be dependent on it in many places — don’t even have fireplaces or wood stoves, or horses for transportation, and most people don’t know the old-time living skills or have the tools or equipment for it — but even then life was harder and took up a lot of time in a day.
These days I think it is not uncommon to suffer a panic attack if one looses internet connection.
The latest quote from Z’s wife stated: “For all Ukrainians in the most deprived regions, ” Zelensky’s wife Elena says that “over 90 percent of those surveyed said they were willing to put up with” the disappearance of heat and electricity “for two or three years if they saw the prospect of our membership in the European Union”
Our Italian friend quoted her saying at the end, “All this is Putin’s fault.”
What “survey?” There were no surveys conducted. Lies, lies, lies.
What stupidity she is expressing! In two to three years without electricity, everyone will be dead. The economy will be gone.
They failed to mention that the surveyors had Nazi tatoos, Azov insignia and AK-47s around their neck.
Her statement is among the dumbest I’ve ever heard. Obviously she has not been without electricity more than a few hours in her entire life. Also a total lack of understanding of how modern civilization works. Obviously easy to talk bullshit, when your laying next to the pool, enjoying a drink while getting a tan in your Florida mansion.
In 2004, a category 4 hurricane made landfall on the town I was living in at the time. There was no electricity for almost two weeks. The Salvation Army supplied ice and water at their depot. No grocery stores, no gas stations, NOTHING. One had to drive for many miles to find an open store. It’s things like this that brings it all home to a person, makes you resilient. The other option is to run. Can’t fault a person who does that, everyone’s circumstances are different. Can you imagine living in south Florida in the middle of August with no air condition, no running water, not even a fan? It was brutal during the afternoon hours at first. Over time though, your body begins to adapt to the heat {but not the lack of water}.