Businesses have become real points of invincibility for Kyiv residents. Restaurants, shops, gas stations, shopping malls, post offices invite you to warm up and recharge. In communal "points of invincibility" they often simply throw up their hands

How business became the main island of invincibility and warmth

Any official in the Kyiv City State Administration will say: 1200 points of invincibility are working, you are welcome. In reality, it doesn’t look quite like that. Hospitality often doesn’t smell like much at most points — in municipal facilities you will usually be greeted either by a half-discharged EcoFlow with a security guard who honestly admits that there is nothing else, or by a generator standing under the sign «Point of invincibility», the entrance to which is closed, and it is impossible to reach the phone number indicated under it.

Of course, there are exceptions — in some schools, in the cultural center of the Darnytsia district, there are really inviolability points, and you can drink tea, charge something, maybe even warm up — if the heating is on. Also, to help Kyiv residents, heating points have been set up by the State Emergency Service — there is free tea, power sources, and heat guns.

However, for the most part, Kyiv residents go to warm up and recharge for business. That is probably why the Kyiv City State Administration announced this year the availability of points in shopping malls. On the Left Bank, these include, in particular, «Aladdin», «Arcadia», «Bazar na Lisovyi», «Darnytsia», «Pyramid», «Silver Breeze» and others. However, the shopping malls themselves do not actively communicate about this — there is no information on social media pages about where to recharge or warm up in most shopping malls. However, during power outages, they are filled with visitors — people are looking for a place to eat, power up their gadgets, and stay warm if there is no heating at home. And here it is really warm, light, and in some places you can have a tasty snack. The shopping mall also has Wi-Fi.

Where to recharge and eat

Any electronics store — «Allo», «Citrus», Comfy, ROZETKA — will be happy to help you power up your devices. Almost every store in the shopping mall has open, accessible internet.

There are also leaders — companies that Kyiv residents have trusted for a long time and that share their energy, having their own generators.

In particular, Nova Poshta invites Kyiv residents to its premises. Here you can recharge your batteries, connect to the Internet, and enjoy hot drinks from vending coffee shops.

«Epicenter» has been sharing light for all who want for several years. Here, near the «energy points», they even set up special tables so that you can work a little with a laptop. And in the city center of Poznyaki, «Epicenter» is always full of people.

And there is also a cafe where you can eat hot food.

And some shopping centers are equipped with mini-coworking spaces.

However, even in stores where there is no coworking, you can sit on the garden furniture and work a little — no one will chase you away.

In addition, you can recharge in some stores of the Silpo, Fora, Metro Cash & Carry, Varus, NOVUS chains. It is only important to monitor whether the store is operating without electricity — whether it is equipped with a generator. About 17 Novus supermarkets in Kyiv and the region are not working as of the morning of January 13. In particular, the capital’s stores at Anna Akhmatova Street, 49, Petro Hryhorenko Avenue, 8, Dniprovska Embankment, 17-a and 18, as well as Zlatoustovska Street, 48/5, are indicated on the retailer’s official website. «During high load, generators require maintenance, so in the event of outages, individual locations may temporarily not work or work with restrictions — after technical work, the stores return to their usual mode,» the Novus press service clarified in a comment to Forbes Ukraine. The company advises checking the current status of the store before visiting the website or by calling the hotline.

By the way, in the Novus app you can see which stores are operating without electricity. Novus also has a cooking department and microwaves with tables where you can heat up food.

Due to low temperatures and power outages, some Silpo supermarkets are temporarily closed, the retailer said on its official Facebook page. «Even on days of long power outages, we try to stay close so that you can come pick up groceries, charge your gadgets, and warm up. However, due to low temperatures and partial blackouts, equipment in some supermarkets sometimes fails. In such cases, the supermarket may be closed for a short time. At the same time, teams on the ground are doing everything possible to restore operations as soon as possible. To find out if a specific Silpo supermarket is open, write to us on social media or call the hotline at 0800 301 707. We can also provide the address of the nearest open supermarket. Thank you for your understanding,» the company said. Stores with generators and Starlink terminals can be found on the company’s website. In some stores you can also eat delicious warm food — there are tables and microwaves.

And also — WOG, OKKO, Socar, UPG always share energy with visitors despite the lack of light and feed them delicious dishes from under the knife.

Many catering establishments have a limited menu during power outages — they prepare dishes that do not require much energy. However, it is still difficult to stay hungry. For example, in the «Puzatiya Khata» during power outages, they warn that the dishes are not hot, since the distribution line is not heated, but the food can be heated in the microwave in the hall. The queue here is always long during a long power outage.

The Shashlikyan restaurant is almost full during the long hours without electricity, and Kyiv residents also willingly go to Salateira.

McDonald’s, which Ukrainians have considered an island of stability since the beginning of the invasion, invites Kyiv residents to warm up, eat, and even work. However, long outages force the chain to make difficult decisions, closing some establishments when there is no power, or limiting certain dishes on the menu (for example, you can’t always buy ice cream). In addition, there are pauses in the work of McDrive on the left, and people are sometimes let into the establishment in a dosed order in order to avoid overloading the equipment and issue orders on time. dev.ua has contacted McDonald’s for an official comment on the peculiarities of work during the last difficult weeks, we are waiting for a response.

By the way, in the McDonalds app you can also check which establishments have an alternative power source.

KFC also runs on its own generator, which a few years ago was almost the only establishment with electricity in the area .

Instead of a conclusion

Even after a day without electricity and severe frosts, Kyiv will obviously live its usual life, somewhat adjusted by the cold and the enemy. However, local authorities have something to learn from business — the level of support from the population is radically different. However, in 2022, business was more united, there were slightly more enterprises that were ready to warm and charge the people of Kyiv.

Meanwhile, finding out where the light is is now much easier. There is a whole map of inviolability points on the website nezlamnist.gov.ua and in the «Diya» application. There is also a map of places with non-generators, where you can both hang out and work, from LUN.

An Island of Light. How a Small KFC Restaurant Turned into a Coworking Space with Electricity for Poznyaki Residents. Report

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An Island of Light. How a Small KFC Restaurant Turned into a Coworking Space with Electricity for Poznyaki Residents. Report

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