As Russia’s illegal and immoral invasion of Ukraine continues to test the limits of the world’s restraint, a grim new reality is beginning to set in for the eastern European nation.
That’s because Russia, whose military cannot seem to function on any basic, noble level, has resorted to attacks against civilian infrastructure meant to cruelly exterminate the people of Ukraine this winter.
Over 10 million Ukrainians have fled the country since the start of the war, but many of those who stayed — particularly in the south and east of the country — have already been pushed to the limits of their resilience.
Daily life has become a test of survival for many, with basic necessities such as water, food and medical provisions becoming scarce. Russia has also continued to pound the country’s energy infrastructure; around 10 million people in Ukraine currently have no power as a result of Russian strikes on energy facilities over recent weeks.
As winter sets in — with dwindling daylight hours and temperatures set to plummet as low -20 degrees Celsius (-4 degrees Fahrenheit) — officials are warning of widespread shortages of energy and heat.
Here is where it gets particularly difficult:
Power has become particularly scarce, with energy use rationed and scheduled (and, lately, unscheduled) daily blackouts imposed in many parts of the country.
And those blackouts could last for months, according to one energy company CEO, who warned Monday evening that “there may be no light for a very long time.”
“I want everyone to understand: Ukrainians will most likely have to live in a shutdown mode until at least the end of March,” Serhiy Kovalenko, CEO at Ukrainian power provider Yasno, said on Facebook Monday.
While the beginning of the invasion saw Russia insist that they were “liberating the Ukrainian people from alleged “nazism” in their government, it became rather obvious that the true intent of the Kremlin was to commit genocide against this sovereign, neighboring nation.
