More than ten million Ukrainians are still without electricity. Even the doctors in the emergency room operate with flashlights. And aid agencies estimate that the winter could force up to 300,000 people to flee the war-torn country.
But Ukraine is not giving up. On the contrary: Kiev responds with a new defense strategy that is reminiscent of the Swiss réduit strategy in World War II. Like the Swiss government, which in the early 1940s ensured that the population retreated to the Alpine bunkers in the worst case scenario, the government of Volodymyr Zelensky (44) now counts on supposedly invincible security areas for people in need.
Selenski takes on Klitschko on “points of invincibility”.
Unlike the alpine country of Switzerland, the flat Ukraine does not drum up its population in mountain bunkers, but in so-called “points of invincibility”. These are rooms in administration buildings, schools, train stations or sometimes simply set up winter tents that are heated against all odds and supplied with power thanks to emergency power generators.
Those who can no longer stand in their freezing cold room or are almost at their wits end in their broken home should be given the opportunity to warm up in these “invincible” rooms, catch up on a few hours of sleep and recharge their electronic devices. . Many of the 4,000 or so “points of invincibility” will also be set up with baby stations.
President Zelensky announced the new civil defense strategy a few days ago. The British survivalist and former elite soldier Bear Grylls (48) advised him on this. Grylls, who became world famous with his TV show “Exposed to the Wild”, visited some “Points of Indomitability” in Kiev. Because of the minireduits, Selensky even got into a public argument with the mayor of Kiev, Vitali Klitschko (51), who – unlike many of his colleagues in other cities – “did not take exemplary care of the rooms in his district”.
Swiss woman assists in Ukrainian Reduit efforts
Eva Samoylenko-Niederer (40), born in Wädenswil, ran a children’s home in the Donbass until the outbreak of war and now helps needy Ukrainians with her association “Sails of Hope”.
The idea for the “points of invincibility” has been around for a long time, says Samoylenko-Niederer in an interview with Blick. “However, so far it has been avoided, because such places are, of course, easy targets for Russian missiles.” However, the cold winter threw the original safety considerations overboard. “People need to ask themselves: Do I want to freeze to death – or will I reach a point of invincibility and risk a terrorist attack?” Many war-torn Ukrainians would have no other choice this winter.