When Russia’s tanks first began rumbling into Ukraine back in February, they did so under the suspicious auspices of “liberation”.
You see, the Kremlin was attempting to suggest that the leadership of Ukraine had been infiltrated with “nazis”, and that only Moscow could save the sovereign nation from falling victim to these horrible leaders.
It didn’t take long to realize that this was all a charade, meant to disguise Russia’s true intent: The genocide of the Ukrainian people.
Now, as the Kremlin’s army continues to fail militarily, they’ve resorted to destroying civilian infrastructure, hoping to cruelly kill Ukrainians during the cold, harsh winter ahead.
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.
The situation is about to get rather hairy.
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.
Russia is already under investigation for thousands of war crimes in Ukraine, and it doesn’t appear as though they’ll be reversing course on their horrific behavior any time soon.
