Ukraine Faces Another Winter of Power Cuts as Kyiv and Moscow Hold Peace Talks

Kyiv resident Oleksandr Gramatsky had taken his 86-year-old mother to the doctor after she broke her foot. They had managed to cross the Northern Bridge, which is often targeted by Russian attacks, and were back outside her apartment when the lift stopped. The power was out, and they had to wait four hours in the car before they could take the lift up to her apartment on the 13th floor.

“I thought I would have to carry her up. I even tried once, but it was impossible,” Gramatsky told the Kyiv Independent.

Talks in Abu Dhabi

Throughout the war, Russia has targeted Ukraine's energy supply. In recent weeks, the attacks have intensified. So far in the war, every single energy facility in Ukraine has been damaged in attacks, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, according to the AP. Over the weekend, up to a million Ukrainians were without power as a result of massive attacks, according to energy company DTEK.

Zelensky has accused Russia of escalating its attacks ahead of talks between Ukraine and Russia, which are being held in Abu Dhabi under the leadership of the United States on Tuesday and Wednesday. The path to peace is to be discussed, and security guarantees for both Russia and Ukraine are high on the agenda.

The talks are at the official level and are a follow-up to a largely fruitless meeting in February.

Ukraine has in recent months stepped up its attacks on Russian oil refineries in response. On Monday, state-owned Rosneft imposed gasoline and diesel rationing in some Russian regions following attacks.

“Broken curfew”

Meanwhile, people in Ukraine are stockpiling food and water for another winter of war. For Gramatsky and his mother, the sudden power outages mean constant worry about how to plan doctor’s appointments around intermittent power cuts - and how Gramatsky will get both his mother and himself home in time.

“Once I even broke curfew because of this. I had to explain to every police officer who stopped me on my way home what a crazy situation my mother and I were in,” he tells the Kyiv Independent.