Ukrainians get creative to keep businesses alive amid winter blackouts

Scheduled outages are leaving many residents and businesses without light or heat for eight to 16 hours a day.

For some, being trapped in a confined space as zombies leap out with chain saws would be a nightmare. But just 100 miles from the front line with Russia, some Ukrainians see it as a chance to escape bigger problems in everyday life.

While officials remain locked in negotiations to end the war, Russian drones and missiles keep pounding Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, plunging entire neighborhoods into darkness as temperatures drop.

At his escape room in Ukraine’s eastern city of Dnipro, Igor Nazarenko is one of many business owners finding new ways to keep things running during the hourslong power outages.

An expanded lineup of horror-themed rooms, designed to unfold in twilight or complete darkness, can operate whether the power is on or off, Nazarenko, 38, told NBC News in a telephone interview last month.