STORY: The energy crisis gripping Europe, brought about by the war in Ukraine and exacerbated by the recent damage to the Nord Stream pipelines that governments suspect was sabotage, may get worse as winter comes to the continent.And, how much worse may depend on how harsh a winter it is.Early weather forecasts released by meteorologists on Thursday (October 14) say the continent could see a cold snap in December, putting more pressure on governments that have already reduced Russian natural gas imports from 40% of their supplies to less than 8%.Carlo Buontempo is with the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, which released the report."This is not about a white Christmas, it's not about Armageddon happening in December, we cannot say that and nobody can realistically say that. We are not going to go back home because first of all in order to rebuild it, clean it all, it is not a job that can be done in a day." So they've worked hard to make the shelter as liveable as possible.It is linked to the power grid and equipped with basic cooking facilities, food, books, toys and even a TV - all part of preparations for what they expect to be a longer haul underground."We will surely spend winter here because we have nowhere else to go, nowhere to stay. I asked him what it was for and he said 'For when the war comes but hopefully you will never have to see it again - Well, now I have."Renewed shelling in Kharkiv has made it increasingly dangerous for the family to be outside. For Shevchenko, her new brick and concrete surroundings have a disconcerting familiarity."I knew this bomb shelter because when I was a little girl I saw it with my grandpa. But our neighbors gave us a lift in their car."When Shevchenko and her two teenage sons reached Ukraine's second city she rejoined her husband.They were offered a refuge in the shelter underneath the factory where he works, and moved in.Zhenia was born in a nearby maternity hospital just two months after they arrived.Her two elder sons left for Poland last month, where friends helped arrange accommodation and schooling for them. the suburban trains stopped running, so we could not leave. We live about 12-15 miles from the border, we could hear everything well. 39-year-old Olha Shevchenko was seven months pregnant with Zhenia when war broke out in Ukraine on February 24.Her house in the Ukrainian village of Prudyanka was destroyed by shelling that same morning."We were woken up at five in the morning by the sound of bombs. Settled in his pram, he enjoys a rare treat - his mother walking him outdoors along a nearby factory forecourt. STORY: The inside of this Kharkiv bomb shelter is the only home six-month-old Zhenia has ever known.
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