How a Kyiv manicurist works through blackouts

When the lights go out and the power goes down in Kyiv, 18-year-old manicurist Elyzaveta Litvynchuk takes her gel lamp, electric nail file and her clients to one of the capital's "invincibility points" which offer back-up electricity from generators. "We would like our Greenhouse to become a so-called magnet in this area.

When the lights go out and the power goes down in Kyiv, 18-year-old manicurist Elyzaveta Litvynchuk takes her gel lamp, electric nail file and her clients to one of the capital's "invincibility points" which offer back-up electricity from generators. The centres were started by Ukrainian authorities but local people and volunteers have since created their own, such as the Greenhouse invincibility point in a school building, following months of power outages as Russia bombs Ukraine's energy infrastructure.

With her gel manicure power lamp plugged in, Litvynchuk tended to the nails of a client, while others charged phones or worked at laptops. "We would like our Greenhouse to become a so-called magnet in this area. So people can meet each other and help each other in the future," said its director Andrii Yerofeev.