Extract from ABC News
Millions of Ukrainians are enduring rolling black outs and days-long outages as Russian attacks pound the grid. (AP: Dan Bashakov)
Millions of Ukrainians are grappling with below-freezing temperatures without heating, as Moscow continues its relentless campaign on the country's energy network.
Almost four years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, almost 60 per cent of Kyiv is without power, as Vladimir Putin's forces try to destroy Ukrainians' morale with drone and missile attacks on energy networks.
It comes as progress towards a peace deal between Kyiv and Moscow appears to have stalled.
Here's the latest on what's happening in Ukraine, and where negotiations are at.
In Kyiv, authorities have set up tents for residents to heat themselves up and charge their devices. (Reuters: Anna Voitenko)
Why is Ukraine facing an energy crisis?
Russian drones and missiles have been targeting Ukraine's energy infrastructure for months, battering power and heating networks on a near-nightly basis.
It has strained a system already buckling from Moscow's warfare, with residents now subjected to prolonged outages, rolling blackouts and no heating for freezing apartments.
Schools are being turned into phone charging hubs and humanitarian aid points as blackouts worsen. (Reuters: Anna Voitenko)
Russia also stands accused of using Ukraine's nuclear facilities as a tool of coercion, with the Chernobyl nuclear power plant briefly disconnected from the energy grid earlier this week following a Russian attack.
In the latest bombardment this week, which came during a bitter cold snap across Ukraine, Russia lobbed more than 330 drones and dozens of missiles at both power generation and distribution infrastructure.
Constant attacks have left Ukraine's equipment reserves for repairs exhausted, the country's economy minister Yuliia Svyrydenko says.
The Ukrainian government says it is deploying thousands of repair teams to get the network back online. (Reuters: Nina Liashonok)
What is the risk to Ukrainians?
The potential consequences are deadly, with aid groups warning that children are facing hypothermia and frostbite from freezing temperatures.
On Tuesday morning, local time, with the temperature in Kyiv at -12C, more than a million Kyiv residents were in the dark.
For Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the situation is critical.
"As of this morning, about 4,000 buildings in Kyiv are still without heat, and nearly 60 per cent of the capital is without electricity," Mr Zelenskyy wrote on X.
Meanwhile, in the eastern city of Kharkiv, the regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said more than a million consumers were without power on Tuesday, although authorities managed to restore power to roughly half of them by Wednesday.
In the southern region of Odesa, energy company DTEK said one of its facilities had been badly damaged in the morning, depriving several thousand households of power.
How are Ukrainians coping?
Across the country, school classrooms are being turned into humanitarian aid points, complete with charging stations so citizens can charge their mobile phones.
Tents are also popping up to allow nearby residents to heat themselves up and access counselling services.
With temperatures below zero, some households have been seen storing fresh and frozen food on their windowsills and balconies.
Millions of Ukrainians are battling to heat their homes in sub-zero temperatures. (Reuters: Yan Dobronosov)
Even when power is restored, many residents face rolling blackouts for most of the day, as a significant chunk of Ukraine's power generation capacity has been taken out by Moscow.
And Moscow's campaign is also threatening the ability of Ukrainians to contact emergency services, with mobile phone networks also affected. The nation's largest carrier says 10 per cent of its grid is not working.
"When there is no electricity, there is no heating: it means the apartment freezes," said Anton Rybikov, a father-of-two from Kviv, where he and his wife Marina have stocked up on backup batteries and sleeping bags.
The 39-year-old military chaplain said one of his sons recently contracted pneumonia after temperatures in the apartment fell to 9 degrees Celsius (48 Fahrenheit) during a power blackout of more than 19 hours following Russian airstrikes.
"It's emotionally very difficult. There is constant worry," Mr Rybikov added. "This winter is the hardest."
How can the crisis be resolved?
Ukraine's government is urging its allies to turn up the pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin as a result.
Mr Zelenskyy said the US needed to pile more pressure on Moscow, saying Ukraine had "not yet had the strength" to stop Russia.
"Can America do more? It can, and we really want this, and we believe that the Americans are capable of doing this," he told reporters in a WhatsApp media chat.
Writing earlier on X, Mr Zelenskyy said some of the Russian missiles fired on Tuesday had been produced this year and called for tougher sanctions on Moscow to curb its military production.
He said he was ready to travel to the World Economic Forum in Davos, where world leaders are meeting this week, if Washington was ready to sign documents on security guarantees for Ukraine and a post-war prosperity plan.
Later, US President Donald Trump told reporters he was expecting to meet Mr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum on Thursday.
Is a peace deal on the horizon?
In Davos, envoys for Mr Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin said their meeting on a possible peace deal to end the war had been "very positive" and "constructive".
And Mr Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff were expected to meet with Mr Putin in Moscow on Thursday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is urging the US to provide more support so it can respond to Russia. (Reuters: Thomas Peter)
Mr Witkoff told CNBC Russia had requested the meeting, remarking that he thought that was "a significant statement on their part".
But there have been few signs of meaningful progress towards an enduring peace deal in recent weeks, after a flurry of diplomacy late last year.
This leaves Ukrainians, many without electricity and heating, shivering through their fourth winter of war.
Reuters/AP
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