Heatwave kills, alongside Russian missiles
Meet the ice makers working on the other kind of air defense.
At the bottom of this page: Latest news at this hour
The Netherlands can no longer provide assistance to Ukraine… Czech Republic also won’t commit to Ukraine aid; but won’t block NATO… Moldova warns its citizens against travel to Russia… Rutte: NATO’s interceptor supply is not “endless”.
Editor’s Note:
For several years, Ukrainians have been suffering not only from the heat but also from widespread shelling.
Despite the severe shortage of air defense missiles and the constant threat of ballistic strikes nowadays, our team remains in Kyiv, recognizing the vital importance of our work here.
If you appreciate our human-centered journalism, please support us by subscribing.
We want to better understand what stories resonate most with you, our readers. What do you want to read next? If you have other ideas, let us know in the comments.
1. The truth behind Ukraine’s ‘invasion of crows’
2. How women in Ukraine are reshaping male-dominated professions
OUR LEAD STORY:
KYIV, Ukraine – Slippers, gray shorts, a gray tank top and a large gray beard. He is driving an old Toyota Land Cruiser with a broken air conditioner, so he rolls down the windows to cope with the heat. That’s Roman, an ice-producer, whose livelihood depends on the weather. And right now, things are heating up.
Roman Cherniakhivsky studied to become a surveying engineer. Yet, in that profession, he hasn’t worked a day in his life. Instead, while working as a bartender in Kyiv, he noticed there were no companies delivering high quality ice on demand. That’s when he noticed a business opportunity — and became an ice producer. Since 2006, his company ‘Red Ice’ has been supplying businesses and private parties in Kyiv and the surrounding area.
“Back then you simply couldn’t buy ice anywhere. When I started offering it as a service and told people [to buy ice], they laughed at me,” Roman recalled. To most people, the idea of turning ice into a profitable business seemed absurd.
Today, in 2026, it seems that he will have the last laugh after all.
In recent years, summers have been steadily getting hotter across Europe. This month a powerful anticyclone arrived from North Africa, bringing an extreme heatwave to Europe. Across the continent, temperatures have surpassed 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) and broke the 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) mark in some places. Even Eastern Europe, which usually enjoys milder summers than France or Italy, has also had to cope with extreme heat.
Such extreme temperatures suggest that global warming is no longer an abstract hazard. Its impact is already felt worldwide. However, heat poses a significant challenge for Ukraine, which puts a tremendous strain on its partially destroyed electricity infrastructure, leaving fewer options on how to survive high temperatures. Scheduled power outages were introduced in every region to stabilize the system.
In Roman’s line of work, it’s easy to stay cool — even during such heat.
“We have a freezer at minus twenty degrees Celsius. Stay there too long and you’ll freeze instead,” said Roman. He also shared some inside information on how professionals beat the heat: “riding in a refrigerated truck is nice — you open the cargo compartment and enjoy the cold for a minute.”
The process of ice production is straightforward. First, you purify the water, only then the ice machine can do its magic. After that is packaging, cold storage and delivery. ‘Red Ice’ production facility is not large, with Roman employing only seven people. There used to be 10, but two have been drafted and one has left the country.
Roman says there are only a few companies in Ukraine which sell exclusively ice, whereas for others it is an additional product alongside, for example, coffee or syrups. At first, he started with producing only food-grade ice, but soon he experimented with making sculptures, dishes and glasses. His sculpting endeavors even brought him to South Korea, where Roman held an exhibition.
Back in Ukraine, he is always coming up with extraordinary ways to sell ice.
“A champagne fountain carved from ice. That one was fascinating. I spent a week figuring it out.” Other times, it’s not so simple. “They’ll [clients] say, “Let’s freeze a balloon — and then make it fly afterwards,” said Roman.
Roman is not anxious about the record heat unlike scientists, as the current heatwave is not a unique occurrence in the European climate but already a part of a global trend. Similar rapid temperatures have been observed in 2022–2024. 2024 in particular holds an alarming record of being likely the warmest year on Earth since record keeping began in 1880, according to NASA. That summer was particularly difficult for Ukrainians, who struggled to cool down without electricity.
“Unfortunately, this is already the new climate reality,” said expert Vira Balabukh in a statement to The Counteroffensive. “Our primary task is not only to slow climate change but also to learn how to live and work under these new climatic conditions,” she explained.
New climate conditions are more dangerous for people, as higher temperatures mean an increase in the mortality rates. There are no official statistics for heat-related deaths in Ukraine, but it can be estimated by taking a look at European countries with similar climate. In Germany, for example, there have been an estimated 810 heat-related deaths this summer, according to the Robert Koch Institute.
At the current rate, the heatwave in Ukraine is more dangerous than Russian attacks, despite the increase in the civilian deaths from the latter in May 2026, according to a UN report.
For Roman’s factory, however, it is the most profitable time of the year as people and businesses buy more ice from him when the temperature outside is high.
“[The demand is] about 70 percent higher [in summer], at least for food-grade ice,” explained Roman.
Following the winter attacks on energy infrastructure, Ukrainian power grids are still weakened. That’s why ice companies in Ukraine, including Roman’s, try to prepare for the long power outages, although it is impossible. 2026 has been no exception, with Russia targeting energy and civilian infrastructure both in the winter and summer.
“Every ice company keeps reserves – 100 tons, 200 tons [of ice]. Then the electricity goes out, production drops, the heat continues, sales soar, and eventually the reserves run out. That’s exactly what happened in Kyiv,” explained Roman.
The weather situation last week in Ukraine was similar to one in the rest of the European continent. The National Hydrometeorological Institute of Ukraine told The Counteroffensive that this year saw several temperature records.
Extremely hot weather can also bring heavy rain and storms afterwards, Nataliia Ptukha, an expert from the Ukrainian National Hydrometeorological Center told The Counteroffensive.
Roman’s business, despite being ‘heat-proof’, is a victim of the severe weather changes. The roof of the production facility was badly damaged during the recent thunderstorm. That was the reason The Counteroffensive couldn’t visit the production facility.
When talking about dreams and future projects, however, his eyes light up, like a child.
Roman says the economic situation, power shortages and the war make it difficult for a small, privately owned ice-production to stay afloat.
Despite that, he seems optimistic about the future ice projects. “I’d like to create a live performance for events,” said Roman. His idea is to create an ice and fire live show, with a burning chainsaw. The ice is supposed to catch fire, while the performer throws the burning chainsaw toward the audience and then starts carving a sculpture.
“The main problem is that the chainsaw itself burns,” Roman laughed.
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Editor’s Note:
For several years, Ukrainians have been suffering not only from the heat but also from widespread shelling.
Despite the severe shortage of air defense missiles and the constant threat of ballistic strikes nowadays, our team remains in Kyiv, recognizing the vital importance of our work here.
If you appreciate our human-centered journalism, please support us by subscribing.
THE LATEST NEWS AT THIS HOUR:
By Kateryna Antonenko, Oleksandra Khelemendyk
Good morning to readers; Kyiv remains in Ukrainian hands.
THE NETHERLANDS CAN NO LONGER PROVIDE ASSISTANCE TO UKRAINE: When asked about providing more Patriot missiles to Ukraine, Dutch Defense Minister Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius said that the Netherlands cannot provide direct military support to Ukraine anymore. She added that Dutch officials will work to encourage other states to continue supporting Ukraine, but said that the Netherlands has “done so much [for Ukraine]…we are at our limit.”
Throughout the full-scale invasion, the Netherlands has provided $10.4 billion in military aid to Ukraine and plans to spend an additional $13.3 billion. Currently, the country has already allocated $1.14 billion for the PURL program, with which European allies fund U.S. weapons for Ukraine.
CZECH REPUBLIC ALSO WON’T COMMIT TO UKRAINE AID; BUT WON’T BLOCK NATO: Many are expecting NATO to approve a measure at the NATO summit which would provide Ukraine with over $80 billion per year. In response to this, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš has said that although he would not block this decision, his own country has no plans to make a financial commitment regarding military aid for Ukraine.
Babiš, who became the Czech Republic’s leader in December 2025, is part of the right-wing ANO party, which has pushed for scaling back Ukraine aid.
MOLDOVA WARNS ITS CITIZENS AGAINST TRAVEL TO RUSSIA: Moldova’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Moldovans citizens should avoid visiting Russia, amid reports of increased harassment by Russian authorities towards Moldovan citizens. Some have been interrogated at the border for up to 12 hours and had their devices searched, while instances of resisting inspection have resulted in arrest. Others have reported they were forced to sign contracts with the Russian Ministry of Defense.
The group most frequently targeted are men aged 18–60, independent travelers, those with recently issued passports, who hold Russian and Moldovan citizenship and those who have visited Ukraine.
Moldova has long struggled with Russian influence and interference in the country, as part of Moldova, Transnistria, is a breakaway state which is backed by Russia. Moldova has recently pushed to raise the issue of Russia’s presence in Transnistria. Moldova also recently closed the ‘Russian House’, a center for Russian culture
RUTTE: NATO’S INTERCEPTOR SUPPLY IS NOT “ENDLESS”: On the eve of the NATO summit in Turkey, the alliance’s Secretary General Mark Rutte warned that “allies do not have an endless supply of interceptors.” This came after Ukraine’s stockpile of Patriot interceptors ran so low that it failed to repel a massive overnight missile attack, which targeted Kyiv and the surrounding region. None of the ballistic missiles were intercepted during this attack.
The attack on the capital killed at least 19 people and wounded nearly 76. However, Rutte noted that the alliance is working to deliver weapons to Ukraine through the PURL program.
CAT OF CONFLICT:
The War Cat Rudolf is enjoying the morning sun. Myroslava ran into him on her way to work.
Stay safe out there.
Best,
Oleksandra and Petro.
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Ukraine is the bulwark against Russia’s aggression against the continent. Europeans (and Americans)not stepping up for its defense are extremely shortsighted. Dangerous times ahead.
Re: reading about crows or women at work, a la Rosie the Riveter? Both, please!