Ukraine braces itself for Russia’s cold war

So far this week, 128 Russian missiles have been fired at Ukraine. Half were intercepted by air defences, according to figures from Ukrainian authorities, but all too many of the others hit their target: power stations. This is a new phase in war, an anti-humanitarian campaign to cut supplies of water, electricity and leave the notoriously cold Ukrainian winter to do its worst. 

‘Ukraine is about to face the hardest winter in all the years of independence,’ said Volodymyr Zelensky in one of his nightly addresses to the nation. About a third of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure has been hit by Russian missiles and Iranian kamikaze drones.

Kyiv had expected Russia to start shelling Ukraine’s critical infrastructure as soon as the first snow fell. But it seems Moscow is having an early rehearsal. The strikes work: dozens of cities, including Lviv, Dnipro and even Kyiv have been left without power or water for hours.