World Health Organization officials estimate that up to three million Ukrainians will be displaced this winter.
By Athena Papakosta
Ukrainians will face rolling blackouts until March as winter freezes the country.
“The Kremlin wants to turn the cold into a weapon of mass destruction,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, while already the Ukrainian authorities are helping citizens in Mykolayiv and Kherson to evacuate the areas they have just recaptured, since their residents will not be able to survive without electricity, heating and water.
For their part, World Health Organization officials estimate that up to three million Ukrainians will flee their homes this winter.
At the same time, Moscow continues its bombing of energy, electricity and water infrastructure. Nearly 10 million Ukrainian households, 40% of the country’s population, live without power with half of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure damaged or destroyed. Already the first snows have fallen in the country as well as the temperature causing many difficulties.
“We have to be prepared for different eventualities, even the worst. Stock up on warm clothes and blankets. Think about what will help you withstand a long outage,” said CEO of private energy company DTEK Yasno.
Russia has launched six massive missile and drone strikes against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure since October 10. Ukraine is struggling with energy and Kiev is creating centers where citizens can gather for electricity, mobile communication, Internet access, heating, water and first aid.
Few expected the Ukrainians to endure nine months of war and already they have managed to force the Russians to retreat and record defeats. At the moment, the Ukrainians are counter-attacking in the east and mainly in the South while the Russians are on the defensive trying to prevent them from advancing further into Russian-held territories.
Ukrainian forces are particularly focusing their counterattack against Russian positions on the Kinburn Peninsula, which lies south of Mykolaiv and west of Kherson, in the Black Sea.
The Kinburn Peninsula is used by Moscow as a base for raids against Ukrainian positions in the Mykolayiv region and other territories along the Black Sea coast under Kiev’s control. In short, it is a key point for Ukrainians.
According to the Institute for the Study of War, control of this area would help Kiev limit Russian shelling of Ukrainian ports while allowing it to strengthen its maritime activity in the Black Sea. At the same time, it would allow pressure to mount on Crimea, which Zelensky wants to return to Ukrainian hands.
For its part, Moscow announced yesterday that at least two drones were shot down by Russian air defenses over Sevastopol, Crimea, which is home to the Russian Black Sea Fleet.
The war in Ukraine has changed form. Vladimir Putin is being pushed operationally into the battlefield while massively bombing energy infrastructure saps Ukrainian morale and depletes Ukrainian air defenses. He is trying to buy time, but the Ukrainians are gaining ground and do not seem in the least inclined to a truce. Most are talking about a long-term war, but some are beginning to hope that secret US-Russian intelligence talks will pave the way for formal negotiations to end hostilities.
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With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
