STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy grid have left cities without power this winter. In the capital, Kyiv, some people are coping by hosting dance parties on ice. NPR's Joanna Kakissis invites us to the dance.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
JOANNA KAKISSIS, BYLINE: It is several degrees below zero outside, but the sun is shining on the frozen banks of the Dnipro River. Natalia Avramenko (ph) wears a furry, hot pink hat and layers of insulated clothing.
NATALIA AVRAMENKO: At home, we have not water and electricity. I and my girls, we only dance. I dance belly dance.
KAKISSIS: She is actually a belly dancing teacher. The mothers of her students are partying with her, passing around a wireless speaker. One of the moms, Elena Aleksandrouk (ph), is the DJ.
ELENA ALEKSANDROUK: (Speaking Ukrainian).
KAKISSIS: "It's gotten so much harder to be happy, she says, but we have the small flame of hope in our hearts that we try to keep burning."
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Whoo.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
UNIDENTIFIED MUSICAL GROUP: (Singing in non-English language).
KAKISSIS: Nearby, someone barbecues sausages. On the snowy ground, there is a burned book. It's in Russian. Everyone steps on its charred pages.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "BREAK MY HEART")
DUA LIPA: (Singing) ...One that could break my heart?
KAKISSIS: Another party is actually on the river, which is frozen solid. A DJ has set up here, his gear powered by a generator. A young crowd hops in unison to Dua Lipa, like a rave on ice. Zhenia Chypiha (ph) is a 30-year-old recruiter, and she says these parties are like therapy.
ZHENIA CHYPIHA: They, like, help to have fun in such dark moments of our life (laughter). Yeah, it's such a, like, hard winter.
KAKISSIS: But not hard enough to leave Kyiv. She says the Russians are trying to make Ukrainians so miserable that they will agree to end the war on Russia's terms.
CHYPIHA: They think they will bomb power plants. We will leave, but no, it's not work like that.
VITALII SVITCHYNSKYI: Hey. Hey, nice to meet you.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Hello, hello.
KAKISSIS: The DJ, Vitalii Svitchynskyi (ph), says these parties are an act of resistance.
SVITCHYNSKYI: I just wanted to give an energy and to tell that we will never give up.
KAKISSIS: Just outside Kyiv, there's another big party. It's on this enormous reservoir that the locals call the Kyiv Sea. We walk right on it because, yeah, it's all frozen solid. The ice is so thick, Ukrainians are actually driving their cars on it.
(SOUNDBITE OF CAR DRIVING ON ICE)
KAKISSIS: People are lining up on the ice for a ride in Alex Kolganov's amateur race buggy.
Your buggy is very popular.
ALEX KOLGANOV: Yeah, sure. Yeah, sure. Yeah. It's like when you come to Disneyland or something, you want the best, you know? Here is the best right now.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: OK, girls.
KAKISSIS: We decide to take a spin, too, perhaps against our better judgment.
(Vocalizing).
Because, as you can hear, it is much more terrifying than it is fun. Luckily, for everyone, there's a doctor here.
FARHAD OSTOVARI: This is amazing. I've never seen people on ice out there, you know? So...
KAKISSIS: Dr. Farhad Ostovari (ph) helps wounded veterans in Ukraine. He splits his time between suburban Washington, D.C., and Kyiv.
OSTOVARI: People don't have power, no water, and it's, like, negative 20 degrees, and they are out here partying. So that's exactly - like, that's Ukrainians. So...
KAKISSIS: And you're joining them.
OSTOVARI: Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah.
KAKISSIS: And more people are joining in, even as the sun sets, and it gets colder and colder.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MIRACLE MAKER")
CLEMENTINE DOUGLAS: (Singing) Undertaker. Undertaker.
KAKISSIS: Joanna Kakissis, NPR News, Kyiv.
INSKEEP: Whoo. Leila, you ready to dance on ice?
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
I'll definitely fall if I do that.
INSKEEP: (Laughter) I would as well. Wow. Amazing. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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