As Ukraine braces for another harsh winter, Russia has increased its attacks on the country’s power infrastructure, leaving millions to face the cold and dark. For families across the nation, daily life has become a struggle for survival, marked by constant power cuts and the ever-present threat of air raids.
In an apartment on the outskirts of Kyiv, Oksana Zinkovska-Boyarska lives with these daily realities. The elevator to her eighth-floor home often stops working, the lights go out, and sometimes even the gas heating fails. She has a large rechargeable battery to keep some appliances running, but it was expensive and its power is limited. Her husband, Ievgen, often has to work by the light of a torch, and their two-year-old daughter, Katia, plays by candlelight.
Oksana described the “animal fear” of taking her child to a shelter during explosions. “I have never felt anything like that in my life,” she said. “The thought that she might be scared because there’s no light, this is terrible.”
A Strategy to Cripple the Economy
Families all over Ukraine are preparing for what could be the most difficult period of the war yet. Russian President Vladimir Putin appears to be trying to break the country’s will by targeting its power supplies and electrical grids. A recent massive drone and missile strike left much of the country without power for a time. As a result, Ukrainians are now dealing with regular power outages that can last up to 16 hours a day.
With winter temperatures in Ukraine often dropping as low as -20C, the situation is dire. A senior government official told the BBC that he expects the next few months to be brutal. “I think it will be the worst winter of our history,” the official said. “Russia will destroy our energy, our infrastructure, our heating.”
Maxim Timchenko, the CEO of a large private energy company in Ukraine, said that based on the intensity of the attacks over the past two months, it is clear that Russia’s goal is the complete destruction of Ukraine’s energy system. However, one European diplomat suggested that Russia’s strategy is about more than just making people cold. It is also about crippling the economy by preventing bakeries from making bread and factories from operating. “The goal of the Russians is to kill our economy,” the diplomat said.
Bleak News from the Front Lines and Diplomatic Stalls
The situation on the front lines is also grim. There are growing concerns that the key eastern city of Pokrovsk could fall to Russian forces. This would give Russia a significant morale boost and a new base from which to seize more territory in the Donetsk region.
Adding to the country’s challenges is a major corruption scandal that is affecting the government. Prosecutors have accused ministers and officials of taking illegal payments from contracts to build defensive structures around Ukraine’s nuclear power plants. While the accused ministers deny the allegations, there is a risk that the Ukrainian people, many of whom are living without heat and light, could lose trust in their government.
At the same time, diplomatic efforts to end the war seem to have stalled. Plans for a summit between President Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump are on hold. This comes after Moscow refused to back down from its maximum war aims and the U.S. imposed new sanctions on Russian oil and gas. A Kremlin spokesman said this week that the situation is “stalled.” Meanwhile, European nations are still debating what to do with €180 billion in frozen Russian assets, leaving Kyiv’s financial situation uncertain.
The Psychological Toll of War
The psychological impact of the war is immense. In Kyiv, the streets are filled with tired faces. A recent scientific study found that people in Ukraine are three times more likely to suffer from insomnia than those in peaceful countries. The constant air raid sirens and the stress of the conflict have taken a heavy toll.
Russia’s attacks have also been strategic. Diplomats suggest that the strikes are deliberately targeting energy networks in eastern Ukraine, in an attempt to “cut Ukraine in two in terms of energy.” A government source said the aim is to “instigate an insurrection, so that people go against the government in Kyiv.”
Despite these immense challenges, the spirit of the Ukrainian people remains strong. Recent opinion polls suggest that a majority of Ukrainians are still optimistic about their country’s future. Sasha, a financier in Kyiv, explained that morale can swing wildly, but people are resilient. Oksana, despite her fears for her daughter, is also determined. “I always think it is much worse at the front line,” she said. “We can hold on for as long as the front needs it.”
A Battle of Wills
President Zelensky has said that Russia is desperate for a victory in Pokrovsk that it can “sell” diplomatically to the White House. The hope is to pressure Kyiv into accepting a peace deal on Russia’s terms. Vadym Prystaiko, Ukraine’s former ambassador in London, said Russia wants to create a feeling that “you can’t do anything with Russia, you can’t defeat Mother Russia.”
When asked if his people could survive the winter, President Zelensky acknowledged the scale of the challenge but said they were prepared. Energy experts also believe that Ukraine is in a good position to protect its energy supply. “It will be complicated, it will be a hard winter,” said Oleksandr Kharchenko, director of the Energy Industry Research Centre, “but it will be manageable.”
Ukraine’s prime minister, Yulia Svyrydenko, expressed confidence. “Russia’s goal was to plunge Ukraine into darkness. Ours is to preserve the light,” she said. The danger is that war fatigue in the West could overcome strategic patience. But one government source remained hopeful. “This winter is the last opportunity for the Russians to defeat us,” he said. “And if we make it to 1 April, we will win the war.”
Despite the war, life goes on in many parts of Ukraine. At a football match in Kyiv, thousands of fans gathered, a powerful symbol of defiance. As the national anthem played, a crowd divided by their teams was united by their country. “It’s really important to continue to live,” said the match announcer. For the people of Ukraine, enduring the winter is not just about survival; it is an act of resistance.
