Russia’s War in Ukraine

Understanding the conflict four years on.

KYIV—The roar of a generator bellows through a snow-covered courtyard in the city’s Troieshchyna neighborhood, drowning out conversation inside the six military-green tents pitched in a courtyard outside of residential buildings.

It had been running for three days straight, far longer than it was designed to, powering emergency heating stations for residents whose homes have gone cold during Ukraine’s harshest winter in more than a decade. When the machine stalls, even briefly, the lights flicker and the heat falters.

KYIV—The roar of a generator bellows through a snow-covered courtyard in the city’s Troieshchyna neighborhood, drowning out conversation inside the six military-green tents pitched in a courtyard outside of residential buildings.

It had been running for three days straight, far longer than it was designed to, powering emergency heating stations for residents whose homes have gone cold during Ukraine’s harshest winter in more than a decade. When the machine stalls, even briefly, the lights flicker and the heat falters.

Inside the tents, run by Ukraine’s State Emergency Services (DSNS), there are cots, children’s books, and a Starlink connection. Anatoly, a DSNS commander, serves cheese sandwiches and tea, encouraging civilians to eat. By evening, more residents trickle in. Though they had braced for another wartime winter, few expected temperatures to plunge to minus 9 degrees Fahrenheit, or that strikes would continue to decimate the energy grid with peace talks ongoing. Many say their apartments hover around 46 degrees Fahrenheit, and it’s simply impossible to stay there anymore. “More people begin to show when they learn that they can eat food here,” Anatoly said. “Many don’t have the electricity to cook at home.”

As Russia’s war in Ukraine passes the four-year mark, many Ukrainians believe Moscow’s strategy of attrition now centers on freezing cities into submission. Part of the battle has shifted decisively toward the country’s energy grid—and toward Kyiv itself. January and February’s waves of drone and missile strikes marked some of the most sustained assaults on the capital’s heating and electricity systems since the beginning of the war, leaving hundreds of thousands without power and heat in subzero temperatures.

The attacks are a test of Ukraine’s resilience on two fronts.........

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