Russia has been pounding Ukraine’s energy infrastructure with drones and missiles in recent weeks, employing a tactic used in previous winters. The strikes have left tens of thousands of people across the country without power or heating amid freezing winter temperatures. As Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky put it, the aim of such attacks is “to create chaos and apply psychological pressure on the population.”
Huge strikes on Kyiv on December 27 left more than 40% of residential buildings in the capital without heating. On average, Kyiv residents had no electricity for 9.5 hours a day in December.
With the country’s energy system strained, energy companies have had to schedule rolling blackouts, and Ukrainians’ lives are now governed by those schedules.
Mothers of young children rush to wash large amounts of children’s laundry as soon as power returns. Older people wait for electricity supply so they can use the elevator and go outside.
Some cafes and restaurants change their menus and even prices depending on whether they are using power from the grid or diesel generators.