It’s not the electricity cuts that trouble Yulia Hailunas the most after the Russian airstrikes. It’s the bitter cold inside her own home. Like many Ukrainians she has had no central heating since Russia began targeting the power grid in January. Now Yulia wears a long quilted coat and a hat inside her flat and keeps her feet warm by resting them on a saucepan full of hot water. If that is not enough she lifts weights for ten minutes to generate some heat. When the temperature outside is above zero it is just about bearable. But later this weekend the forecast says it will drop below -20C in Dnipro.
In Kyiv and other cities, temperatures could drop even lower, raising fears of bursting heating pipes. Yulia Hailunas says it could be a “catastrophe.” Donald Trump said Vladimir Putin agreed to pause attacks on major Ukrainian cities for a week during the cold snap, but the Kremlin later said the pause ends Sunday. Many Ukrainians are skeptical, as deadly strikes have continued elsewhere. This is the fourth winter in a row that Russia has targeted Ukraine’s energy grid, leaving it weaker and harder to repair. Engineers are working around the clock to restore power and fix heating pipes under apartment blocks, but a longer pause is needed to prevent disaster.
On Friday a bus in Kherson was hit by shelling, killing one person and injuring several others. There were also multiple drone warnings. Civilians along the eastern frontline are still fleeing their homes. In Pavlohrad about 40 miles from the front, families have evacuated, leaving everything behind and unsure if they will return. Volunteers at a registration centre gave them small handouts of cash food and toiletries. Kateryna said leaving her village felt like abandoning a piece of herself, but she had to protect her two young children.
Her mother Iryna said their village had become a total combat zone with drones striking every day. “One day there were 50 Shahed drones overhead,” she said.
Trump sees the energy truce – a pause in major attacks on Ukrainian cities – as a way to reduce tension and push peace talks forward. Ukraine has agreed to halt strikes on Russian oil refineries and tankers to show support for the talks. Another round of negotiations is planned in the UAE on Sunday, though no senior US officials will attend. Ukraine says only one major disagreement remains, over territory in the east, but Russian officials are lowering expectations for a deal.
Many Ukrainians feel Moscow is just toying with the process. “We want stability,” says Iryna. “But how can we trust Russia not to betray us?”
