- Winter in Ukraine is the coldest since the war began, with temperatures below minus 15 degrees Celsius
- Russian strikes on energy infrastructure caused widespread heating, electricity, and water loss
- Kyiv's centralized Soviet-era heating system is vulnerable to major disruptions by attacks
Amid the ongoing war against Russia, people in Ukraine are living through the most difficult winter in recent times.
In January, temperatures went below minus 15 degrees Celsius as Moscow targeted energy infrastructure, leaving a large number of Ukrainians without heating, reported Reuters.
Kyiv has been braving the coldest winter of the war so far due to Russia's relentless strikes on energy infrastructure, per the report.
The United Nations Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) on Friday said that systematic and repeated attacks from Russia on the energy infrastructure of Ukraine last month have created extreme hardship for the civilians.
It claimed that the attacks continued in February and have caused major disruptions to heating, electricity and water across Ukraine. As a result, it has affected millions of people, with temperatures remaining below the freezing point.
HRMMU Head Danielle Bell said the "scale and persistence of these attacks underscore a grave disregard for the lives and well-being of civilians”.
“When power, heating, and water are repeatedly knocked out in the dead of winter, basic survival becomes a daily struggle," Bell added.
How The Heating System Works?
Under this, water gets heated at a large main power plant and later gets pumped through pipes to the residential blocks. From there, it gets further distributed into radiators and taps.
According to The Guardian, Russia could destroy Ukraine's heating system with a single major strike.
In total, Kyiv operates three large plants, generating hot water and electricity. Last month, the BBC reported that Ukraine's capital city remains the main target of these attacks. Nearly 6,000 apartment blocks were left without heating after Russia's overnight bombardment on January 24, mayor Vitali Klitschko said.
Ukrainian authorities have claimed that all such power stations have been hit during the course of the war.
In Kyiv, people stay in 20th-century Soviet Union apartment blocks. Called 'panelki,' these were mass-constructed out of concrete panels.
The heating system is capable of serving tens of thousands of people across entire neighbourhoods, but its centralised infrastructure remains vulnerable to attack.
Amid frequent blackouts, electricity has been restricted to three or four hours a day, forcing Kyiv authorities to set up tents for residents to get warmth.
This year, the lowest temperature recorded in Kyiv was minus 20.7 degrees Celsius on February 2, while daily temperatures, on an average, have not gone above freezing this year.
The Guardian report added that multiple people in the city have frozen to death, and residents have begun digging cesspits as the water system fails.
Besides Kyiv, about 3,00,000 people were left without water supply and power in Odesa, Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba said. Also, over 10,000 consumers are left without heating in Dnipro, reported Reuters.
Last month, the European Commission said it would "not let Russia freeze Ukraine into submission" and deploy 447 emergency generators.
