As Russia continues striking Ukraine’s energy system in subzero temperatures, photographs from Kyiv capture life in the freezing capital

Russian strikes on civilian infrastructure have left thousands of homes across Ukraine without electricity or heat this winter. Attacks on February 12 left roughly a quarter of Kyiv’s high-rise apartment buildings in the cold; as of February 16, about 500 buildings in the capital were still without heat, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. Although Russia’s war continues to make headlines internationally, few people outside the country truly understand what it takes to survive in subzero temperatures without modern amenities. Meduza shares excerpts from letters from our Ukrainian readers, accompanied by a photo series shot in Kyiv in late January. Together, they capture not only the harsh conditions Ukrainians face but also their feelings of exhaustion, despair, and fragile hope as the full-scale war enters its fifth year.