Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has declared a state of emergency, after major damage to energy infrastructure left citizens across the country freezing in temperatures as cold as -20°C. Waves of Russian strikes on critical infrastructure over the past month have deprived thousands of homes of electricity, heating or running water. At one stage last week, around 70% of Kyiv found itself without power for several hours. Zelensky has promised new measures including higher energy imports, a 24-hour task force to coordinate the response, more help points around the capital, and a relaxation of the midnight curfew so that residents can access power and heat.

Welcome as those initiatives are, they are unlikely to be enough to tackle a problem of this magnitude. While Moscow has pounded Ukraine in the winter months throughout the war, Ukrainians stress that this is the worst the situation has been so far. Last month, the country’s largest private energy provider admitted it has been struggling to cope in the face of Moscow’s ceaseless drone, cruise and ballistic missile attacks, and that strikes are so frequent that the firm does not have time to recover. More broadly, there is the difficulty of sourcing spare parts from the rest of Europe, while icy conditions make repairs significantly more challenging when they do occur.

It is not just a question of the scale of the attacks, since Moscow has upgraded the ballistic missiles used so that they are harder to intercept, even by America’s Patriot systems. Ukraine’s power network has been severely damaged, and negotiations to regain the vital Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, currently under Russian control, are going nowhere. There is no sign of Russian President Vladimir Putin abating in his onslaught any time soon, with Ukrainian Deputy Energy Minister Mykola Kolisnyk saying that “the enemy is going all in […] to destroy Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.” Meanwhile, according to Zelensky, Russia has deliberately waited for the coldest conditions. With freezing temperatures expected to persist until March, weeks of hardship still lie ahead.

The Kremlin’s strategy extends beyond sapping civilian morale, further seeking to trigger internal displacement and render the capital uninhabitable. State-owned grid operator Ukrenergo has claimed that Russia aims to “disconnect the city” and “force people to move outside”. The tactic is yielding results: two supermarket chains have announced store closures as a result of the energy crisis, and the city’s electric tram service is being replaced with buses. Metro lines have been shut down, businesses are suffering interruptions, and educational institutions have been forced to adopt remote learning. Residents admit that they are leaving the city amid relentless attacks, following Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko’s suggestion that those who can leave temporarily for safer areas should do so in order to reduce the pressure on resources.

Testing the city’s resilience further, Zelensky used the state of emergency announcement to take a swipe at his long-term sparring partner Klitschko, accusing Kyiv authorities of being far less prepared than other cities and adding that his ally, Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal, will oversee a new HQ in the capital. Besides undermining public faith in local authorities and handing Ukraine’s doubters a further indication of its chaotic internal politics, all in the name of momentarily besting a rival, it was — according to the Kyiv Mayor — an insult to the “dedicated work of thousands of people” who had endeavoured to ready the capital for Moscow’s campaign.

Ukrainian resistance has remained strong throughout this war. Yet, as Russia launches its most fierce attack yet on the country’s energy system, morale is plunging as dramatically as the temperatures.

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Bethany Elliott is a writer specialising in Russia and Eastern Europe.

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