Just before the start of the fifth year of the war, Ukraine is facing a combination of extreme weather conditions and increased military attacks. In the capital, Kyiv, there is a critical humanitarian situation, described as the harshest winter since the beginning of the Russian invasion. Temperatures far below zero and widespread damage to the 'Infrastruktur' lead to long-lasting power outages, leaving many apartment buildings without heating and water. President Wolodymyr Selenskyj declared a state of emergency for the entire energy sector and announced the establishment of a coordination headquarters.
On the front line in the east of the country, an intensification of combat operations is reported, despite frost and snow. According to reports from the Ukrainian 'Generalstabs', there were about 180 Russian attacks within a single day recently. A focus of the clashes remains the area near Pokrowsk, where Ukrainian forces are said to still hold positions in the neighboring city of Myrnohrad. Gains in territory by Russian troops are also reported from the Zaporizhzhia region, especially near Huliaipole.
The Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Olexander Syrskyj reviewed the past year and emphasized that critical breakthroughs by the enemy were successfully prevented. Nevertheless, the situation remains tense due to systematic attacks on the supply network. The Ukrainian leadership accuses Moscow of wanting to make the cities uninhabitable by deliberately destroying the energy infrastructure.
