PERSONAL STORY: Pregnant mother in Kyiv braves power cuts and cold, frets over impending birth

Yuliia Chumak braves freezing winter streets in Kyiv with her young daughter, determined to keep living and raising her family despite war, power outages, and harsh conditions. Russia’s missile and drone attacks this week have left millions in Ukraine without heat or electricity.

Anna Voitenko, Andrii Pryimachenko/Reuters

15 January 2026 at 09:12:50

A screenshot photo of video provided by Reuters showing pregnant mother in a long coat walks through a snowy park while pulling a young child on a sled.

Reuters

Yuliia Chumak, 32, bundled her three-year-old daughter Kvitoslava into warm clothes for kindergarten on Wednesday (January 14), warming her hands with her breath before pulling her on a sled through icy streets.

“I am eight months pregnant, I have a three-year-old child, and a dog, and no electricity, and no heating,” she said. “Well, I don’t know, I love Kyiv. I have a good job here, it’s interesting. I don’t see the need for myself to leave.”

For Chumak, the hardships of winter and war have not shaken her resolve to raise a family. “There will never be a good moment to give birth to a child, ideal conditions, an ideal country,” she said. “There will always be a risk of some crisis, some conflict. What shall we do now – stop living?”

Russia struck cities across Ukraine with missiles and drones this week, knocking out heat and power, exposing millions to dangerous winter cold.

-Anna Voitenko, Andrii Pryimachenko/Reuters