Russia is using Frost as a weapon against Ukraine

Temperatures in Ukraine have been in the double-digit minus range for several days.Russia is using the harsh winter weather as an opportunity to destroy the country's energy supplies.The situation is worse than it has been since the beginning of the war.

Freezing cold in Ukraine: Russia uses ice as a weapon.

Temperatures in Ukraine have been in the minus double digits range for days.Russia used the severe cold weather as an opportunity to cut off the country's energy supply.The situation is worse than it has been since the war began.

Winter is a historical ally of the Russian army.In the two Patriotic Wars, the great defensive battles against Napoleon and Nazi Germany, Western attackers were unsuccessful not only because of the harsh climate in the East.The image of “General Winter”, rushing to the aid of Russia in difficult times, is firmly established in the public consciousness.

Government warning

But even when they act as invaders themselves, the Russians rely on winter support.Since the attack in February 2022, Russia has targeted Ukraine's energy supply and increased the heating system every year to tire the population of darkness and cold.In the face of the current icy cold in Ukraine, Moscow is getting stronger.of Ukraine.

On Tuesday night, the Russian army carried out another massive air attack.According to the Ukrainian army, almost 300 drones, 18 missiles and 7 cruise missiles attacked targets in Ukraine.

The targets of the attacks were mainly the big cities of the country.On Tuesday, about 50,000 houses were left without electricity in Odessa.Four people were killed near Kharkiv.Among other things, the Russians attacked the distribution center of Nova Posta, the country's largest private logistics company, first with missiles and then with drones.

Unheated apartments in extreme cold

From Kiev, DTEK reported further damage to one of its power plants.According to Mayor Vitaly Klitschko, the facility has already been attacked eight times since October.The heating failed in 500 apartments on Tuesday morning, affecting tens of thousands of families.

This is a further blow after Friday's massive attack, according to Klitschko, caused the worst damage to the capital's energy infrastructure since the start of the war.The heating in half of all centrally heated apartment blocks does not work.Heavy frost is expected to last throughout the week.

In the worst-hit neighborhoods on the left bank of the Dnipro River, water drained from the heating pipes of many houses before they froze.Otherwise, the pipes are at risk of bursting, which could make repairs difficult.There are so-called "invincibility points" throughout the city.They are hot places with electricity, to charge mobile phones for example.In some cases, hot water and meals are also provided.

After Friday's attack, Mayor Klitschko called on all residents who had the means to leave the city to places with working electricity and fire.His spokesman later explained that this is not an order to dismiss, but a recommendation to reduce the burden on the civil service in this situation.

That call sparked controversy about the damage and whether authorities will be able to fix it in time.There is some mistrust in the national government because it does not openly announce the extent of the problems, for example with the electricity supply this winter.The government did not intervene in Klitschko's appeal.

Repairs are becoming increasingly difficult

Experts speak directly about the worst situation since the beginning of the war.The head of the Dixi expert group, Olena Pavlenko, shows the cumulative effect of the bombing of energy facilities, which has been going on for four years now.Ukraine's entire energy system has weakened, Pavlenko explained to the Kyiv Independent.After each attack, repairs become more complicated.Added to this is the extreme cold, which makes the repair work difficult.Every week, Dixi publishes a report on the situation with energy supplies in Ukraine.

Russia also deliberately destroyed Ukraine's electricity grid.and enable the transmission of electricity from one part of the country to another.Ukraine produces about 50 percent of its electricity from three nuclear power plants that remain in operation in Ukrainian-controlled territory.Russia has never directly attacked these facilities.and is unlikely to do so in the future.Due to the dangers that may occur

This and the high capacity of the electricity grid, dating back to Soviet times - before the war, Ukraine had 25 gigawatts and a transmission capacity of 54 gigawatts - made it possible to eliminate the regional shortages after the invasion.It is becoming increasingly difficult due to systematic attacks on stations and other elements of the network infrastructure.

Energy expert Denis Sakva also sees the Russian approach as an attempt to cut off industrial regions such as Zaporizhia and Dnipropetrovsk from energy production centers in the west of the country.To make the energy grid more resilient, Ukraine increasingly relies on mobile units that generate electricity and heat.According to government plans, more than 500 MW of mobile power plants will be installed this year.During winter, the country's electricity demand is around 18 GW.