The Ukrainian population is experiencing a full-blown and catastrophic winter. Not only are they not sure if they will be drafted into the Russian-Ukrainian battlefield tomorrow to fall victim to a relentless war, but they are also not sure if there will be enough heating tonight to withstand the bitter cold. In fact, in September-October 2023, Western countries issued warnings reminding Ukraine to prepare for another brutal winter. These warnings are not unfounded, as Ukraine's civilian infrastructure, such as heating, electricity, and water supply, was almost completely destroyed during Russia's large-scale offensive in 2022. Although Ukraine, with the full support of the West, has made every effort to repair these civilian facilities, and by August 2023 announced that it had restored 51% of its power supply system, the information released by the Ukrainian power grid contradicts the claims of Ukraine**.
Saturian executive Maria Saturian claims that her company's power generation capacity has been completely destroyed, with "all major thermal and hydroelectric plants under attack". According to a report by the United Nations Development Programme, Ukraine's electricity infrastructure losses amounted to $10 billion in 2022-2023, leaving nearly 12 million people without access to adequate electricity**. In order to alleviate the problem of lack of electricity**, Ukraine has even begun to recommend that people use table lamps to save energy, but this is only part of the solution to the problem of insufficient electricity, as Ukraine faces a comprehensive energy shortage. Ukraine needs at least 1.4 billion cubic meters of natural gas to survive the winter, but according to the Atlantic Council, a US think tank, the shortfall is as high as 300 million cubic meters.
In addition, as a result of the war that has damaged a large number of Ukrainian housing, according to some Western** statistics, more than 1.4 million houses have been damaged or destroyed, which has directly led to the displacement of 3.7 million** and more than 1 million people forced to live in dilapidated houses. In addition, 18 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance, including 4 million children. However, based on what the UN has so far, there is still a "huge" gap in Ukraine's humanitarian response plan, and at least $1.6 billion is needed to fill this gap. Ukrainians are going through a harsh winter, with even more daunting challenges due to their slow resilience and huge funding gaps. Russia's massive bombing campaign has put Ukraine in an even more difficult position, while the Ukrainian population is waiting for help.
At least 1.4 million homes have reportedly been destroyed in Ukraine, while Ukrainian forces have consistently demonstrated amazing interception capabilities in past battles, successfully shooting down most of the missiles and drones with little to no major cause. However, these victories have also brought new problems, and many Ukrainians are immediately facing serious life troubles such as power outages. Take the Russian airstrike on Kyiv on December 11, for example, with eight ballistic missiles hitting the city, while at least 18 drones flew into Mykolaiv. Although Ukraine successfully intercepted all the missiles, the debris still smashed a large crater up to 5 meters deep and left 120 homes in Kyiv without electricity. This makes one wonder if the missile fragments of the Russian army have "artificial intelligence" and only destroy buildings and power facilities, so as to avoid harm to innocent civilians as much as possible
Similarly, in the December 13 attack on Kyiv, the Ukrainian authorities claimed to have successfully intercepted 10 missiles and 10 drones, but the power facilities were still devastated. However, what worries Ukraine the most is not only the loss of power facilities, but also the fact that Russia's ** storage is becoming more and more abundant, and the attack tactics are becoming more diverse. Western observers believe that in the 2023 Russia-Ukraine war, the Russian army has been very restrained in the use of cruise missiles and ballistic missiles, which indicates that they have a large number of various missiles in reserve to guard against possible NATO intervention. However, as things stand, the Russian army has a sufficient amount of ammunition to fight Ukraine, and they have become more diverse in the way they use them.
For example, it takes only 90 seconds for a Russian missile to hit a target, suggesting that they most likely used cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, and hypersonic missiles, according to **. Russia's missile attacks were reportedly accompanied by attacks on Ukrainian telecommunications companies' servers, making it even more difficult for Ukraine's already fragile defenses. At present, Ukraine only relies on small-caliber anti-aircraft artillery, anti-aircraft machine guns and portable anti-aircraft missiles to intercept drones, but against Russian cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and hypersonic missiles, these ** appear to be powerless. The American-made "Patriot" anti-aircraft missile, which attracted much attention last year, is no longer functional, which is lamentable.
Although Ukraine has recently introduced two Skynex mobile air defense systems from Germany, it remains to be seen whether they will be truly effective in intercepting Russian missiles and drones. In the face of various provocations and threats from Russia, Ukraine can only be beaten passively and is powerless to fight back. Putin can strike without hesitation, carrying out military operations on the battlefield, striking civilian facilities from a distance, and even attacking information security systems, all of which can destroy Ukraine without mercy. In such an extremely unfavorable situation, it is really difficult for Ukraine to fulfill the task of defending its territory.