Residents of occupied Stara Zburivka lack firewood amid an 18-month power cut
Residents in occupied Stara Zburivka in the Kherson Region (Oblast) lack firewood to heat their homes, the Most news outlet reported, citing Viktor Maruniak, the head of the village. There has been no electricity supply in the village for about a year and a half and no gas supply for about two years. People use trees from abandoned yards and dilapidated houses for heating and cooking.
A man died in the village a few days ago after going to the forest for firewood, Maruniak said. At the same time, the forests around the settlement have almost completely burned down.
“There are plenty of abandoned yards, so people saw down trees, fences, half-burned houses there – everything possible goes for firewood,” Maruniak said.
He added that there is water in the village. In the summer, people cook food on fires in their yards and use stoves for domestic needs. Some residents have installed solar panels.
Russian occupying forces have cut Stara Zburivka off from medical care, according to the publication. Before the full-scale invasion, 2,445 people lived in the village, including 340 children. Currently, about 130 people remain there.
“The house of culture burned down, the church burned down, the school we repaired before the war burned down as well. Half of the houses are either damaged or burned down. The last thing left of civilisation there was the post office, and even that is gone now,” the village head said.
The post office in Stara Zburivka was closed before the elections to the Russian State Duma, according to Maruniak. 86 people who previously received their pensions there and could buy groceries brought in by Russian forces no longer have this opportunity.
On 6 May 2026, Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported a critical deterioration of the humanitarian situation in certain hromadas of the temporarily occupied part of Kherson Oblast. According to the ministry, the most difficult situation was in Oleshky, Hola Prystan, as well as Stara Zburivka and Nova Zburivka.
Russian forces are preparing a series of information and psychological operations regarding the situation in temporarily occupied Oleshky in the Kherson Oblast.
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