Even as politicians and diplomats talk of peace in Davos, Abu Dhabi, Washington and elsewhere, the people of Ukraine ¡ª mothers with children, the elderly and infirm ¡ª continue to suffer as attacks come from the air in subzero temperatures. Just days after the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, last week, Russia launched another mass strike on Ukraine¡¯s energy system.
Across Ukraine, millions of families have been living with widespread blackouts and electricity that comes back only briefly. In Kyiv, where my 78-year-old mother and sister live, the talk is not of peace but of cold flats, dark stairwells and the brief return of electricity on which almost everything depends. According to Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, as of Jan. 27, there were approximately 710,000 consumers without power in Kyiv alone. For many, that means no heat in dangerously cold weather.
And the siege continues. Ukraine¡¯s Ministry of Internal Affairs urged households to prepare for prolonged disruption as Russia continues striking energy facilities and residential areas, a campaign Ukrainian officials say is designed to push cities toward breakdown and make daily life unliveable for as long as possible.
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