How Ukrainian wikimedians are living through this difficult winter – four stories

This winter has become one of the hardest in the lives of many Ukrainians – near-daily Russian attacks on civilian infrastructure have led to constant power outages and problems with heating and water. In Kyiv alone, 1,100 high-rise buildings are without heating until the end of the season, and many thousands more have temporarily lost heating multiple times throughout the winter.

People continue to live, work, and support one another. Many Ukrainian Wikimedians keep contributing to Wikipedia, finding meaning and solace in this activity. At the same time, the reality we need to acknowledge is that many people are unable to contribute because of the war.

As February 24th marks the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, we’ve gathered four different stories of community members across Ukraine both contributing to Wikimedia and being forced to put their contribution on pause.

Maryna Lebid, a teacher from Poltava

Maryna is a literature teacher from Poltava and an active Wikipedia editor who has organized numerous events and campaigns in the Wikimedia community.

“Being actively involved in Wikipedia under today’s conditions is extremely difficult.

Even something as simple as traveling to Kyiv for an edit-a-thon in January was a challenge – trains can get stuck between stations for hours in the freezing cold.

When we held a Wikimarathon at the regional library in Poltava, we expected participants to join in-person. But some couldn’t make it because public transport wasn’t running in the severe frost. On top of that, the library lost power during our event. A portable charging station gave us just enough battery to demonstrate how to write Wikipedia articles and answer questions, but participants had to do their actual editing on phones.

You have to chase the electricity. In our region, there are days when power is available for just two hours in a 24-hour period – one hour during the day and one at night. And even when the power is on, the internet often doesn’t work. So contributing to Wikipedia is hard. But I still try: for instance, I serve on organizing committees and review articles for contests like ‘Wikipedia for Schools’ and ‘(Un)known Women.’

I constantly have to rearrange my schedule just to carve out an hour a day for Wikipedia. I run webinars from my school rather than from home, because the school has more reliable power and Wi-Fi.

But often it’s not even a matter of time – it’s the emotional energy. Enduring the cold and the blackouts takes so much out of you that there’s less and less left for anything beyond your day job, including Wikipedia.”

Oleksii Holubov, a scientist and university professor from Kharkiv

Oleksii is an astronomer, astrophysicist, and university lecturer, as well as an active editor and administrator of Ukrainian Wikipedia.

“I’m in Kharkiv, where I teach and do research at Karazin National University.

I’ve been writing for Wikipedia as actively as ever — since the start of the full-scale invasion, I’ve created around 2,500 new articles, brought 30 articles up to ‘good’ or ‘featured’ status, and substantially expanded or completely rewritten many more. Most of my writing is in my field – astronomy – but I also write about everything around me: books I’ve read, films I’ve watched, villages I’ve visited, streets I know. Right now there’s no power, and I’m running on a battery that a fellow Wikipedian from Lviv sent me so I wouldn’t slow down 🙂

For me, contributing to Ukrainian Wikipedia is part of the fight for our language and for our cultural independence. Wikipedia is one of the most visited websites in Ukraine – statistically, every 30 seconds someone reads an article I’ve written. When I hear more and more Ukrainian spoken on the streets of Kharkiv each year, it feels good to know that I’ve played a small part in that.”

Vitalii Petrushko, a serviceman in the Donetsk region

Vitalli worked as Wikimedia Ukraine’s communications manager in 2021-2024, before joining the army. He still sometimes helps us as a freelance designer, but he doesn’t have a lot of free time as a serviceman stationed near the frontline.

“I’m right now stationed in the Dobropillia direction in eastern Ukraine, serving with the Azov Brigade of the National Guard.

This winter, conditions in Donbas have been brutal: temperatures dropping to –20°C, heavy snowfall, and now, with the thaw setting in, many of our shelters look like Niagara Falls.

During my service, I took up film photography – taking portraits of my fellow soldiers, the destruction of towns and villages, and the impact of the war on the natural environment”

Kateryna Kifa, a communications specialist from Odesa

Kateryna Kifa is a communications expert and active Wikipedian. She was recently elected to Wikimedia Ukraine’s board.

“I am in Ukraine. I live and work here as a communications specialist and co-founder of a few projects. Like for many Ukrainians, life often revolves around electricity schedules, power banks, fiber optic internet, and planning work around outages. Emotionally, it’s getting harder. Blackouts, drone and missile attacks, constant stress, the mental state of family, friends and colleagues, and the situations unfolding in our timelines create permanent tension. You have to be strong and not give up. But often that means staying in a constant state of alertness, without a real chance to fully relax.

After almost four years of full-scale war, I clearly see how deeply it affects the body and mind: stress, anxiety, trouble sleeping, burnout, emotional ups and downs that sometimes are barely noticeable because the body simply switches to survival mode. I also had to relocate to another city and organize suitable working conditions, including installing fiber optic internet, in order to stay connected and continue contributing.

And still, I continue editing Wikipedia. Not always as much as before. But I consciously make space for it because it supports me as much as I support it. 

I love creating and improving articles about notable women and inspiring personalities. I write about scientists, authors, orientalists, mental health, music, technology, startups, movies, and books. I actively edit Ukrainian Wikipedia and frequently translate articles from English, French, Spanish, Italian, German, and other languages. I also share Ukrainian topics with readers who speak other languages.

Contributing to Wikimedia projects has become a grounding anti-stress practice. It allows me to do something valuable and concrete. You create or improve an article, publish it, and understand that someone in another part of the world may read it tomorrow and learn something that wasn’t available yesterday. That simple awareness is incredibly motivating.

It also gives a sense of control in a reality that often feels uncontrollable. My actions lead to a tangible result. In times of uncertainty, that feeling matters.”