Ukraine’s suffering continues as power is cut for days amid continued Russian attacks.

In an update from Ukraine, the top U.N. aid official there, Undersecretary-General Matthias Schmale, reports that half the population of the city of Kherson, some 30,000 or so residents, have been without power for several days.

It’s not the only city without electricity, he said. UN News on Wednesday, while on mission in southern Ukraine:

“The big challenge is how to support people if the electricity is cut off for several days, more than a week, let’s say, in a row, as is currently happening in Odessa,” he said.

Sustained damage

“The authorities are pretty confident they can cope with a couple of hours or even a couple of days at a time, but more than a week will be a big challenge.”

The Humanitarian Coordinator said that one solution to the energy crisis was to ensure that schools and health centers have generators and enough fuel, “so that people can gather there, if there is a crisis and if necessary for several days in a row.”

Schmale was in the border town of Kherson on Wednesday, which lies directly across the Dnieper River from lands occupied by Russian invaders in southern Ukraine.

While there, he met with civilians at a UN humanitarian center who had come seeking help. A woman who works at a power plant said she was very afraid of being attacked while at work.

‘Almost everything has been destroyed’

He said there were five houses left on his street where people still live and that “almost everything has been destroyed.”

“I don’t even think about it. My house, my dogs, my cats. The neighbors left after their houses were attacked. They left their dog for a week. They’ve been gone for three years now.”

Another woman Humanitarian Coordinator Schmale met said she was from the Kherson Island district and lived without gas for heat or cooking. His mother died in hospital 10 days ago due to a landmine accident.

Six months earlier, her husband was killed while using public transport in Mykolaiv, during a drone attack.

He began to cry as he remembered all the people he had lost and fears that it will not be possible for him to return home.

‘I’d rather smile than cry’

“Kherson used to be a very industrial city, but it’s not anymore,” said another retiree. As a young man, he worked building meteorological instruments for ships.

Mr. Schmale congratulated her on her great sense of humor in the face of adversity. “I’d rather smile than cry. I’ve had plenty of time to cry,” he responded.

“I just want to go home and die there,” he added poignantly.