"The Motto is a Candle and a Stove": How the Zolochiv Community Prepares for Winter on the Edge of Light and Darkness

Viktor Kovalenko, head of the Zolochiv administration, on the air of the "Voice of the Community" program (a joint project of the local media network Gromada Group and the Kharkiv Press Club) describes the atmosphere in which the village has to not merely exist, but prepare for its toughest winter trial yet.

The enemy is deliberately destroying critical infrastructure: recently, the community was left without gas, power, and communications for three consecutive days.

However, there is no panic in the Zolochiv area—people here are forging resilience and developing a clear plan of action.

 

"We already lived through the turbulent year of 2022, and our motto since then hasn't changed: 'A candle and a stove!' Together with international partners from Germany and Italy, we are stocking up on everything—from generators and power banks to candles and even matches, which are delivered to us by the minibus-load."

The primary focus of winter preparation is providing the population with alternative heat sources.

Currently, the community is 70% supplied with potbelly stoves (burzhuyky). Since Zolochiv and the surrounding villages have many apartment buildings, the local authorities are engaging charities and public utility services to install stoves directly inside apartments.

Safety remains the top priority.

"Our public utility enterprise is headed by a former State Emergency Service chief, Colonel Harbuz—a man with 30 years of experience. We are working through a precise system: specialists install the stoves in apartments according to all safety standards and instruct homeowners to prevent any tragedy."

If electricity or gas is completely knocked out, utility workers are prepared to immediately drain water from the heating systems to preserve the networks and distribute drinking water in specialized containers.

Despite the destruction of three local gas stations and constant attacks on stores, pharmacies, banks, and utility services continue to operate in the village. Thanks to agreements with the UN World Food Programme, residents receive long-shelf-life food kits.

Zolochiv is preparing for winter like an outpost: they are convinced that not a single child or elderly resident will be left to freeze alone in the cold.