The Winter of Our Discontent

This winter will undoubtedly remain a significant episode in the history of the Russo-Ukrainian war, perhaps one of the most tragic since 2014. The grandchildren of today’s young Kyivites will ask their grandparents how they survived the winter of 2026.

Russia has been waiting for a harsh weather to crush the Ukrainians’ will to resist. While the temperature remains well below freezing, Russia will do everything possible to destroy the remnants of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, making living conditions almost unbearable, especially in urban areas.

Ukrainians know much more about their country’s electrical system than before. They understand that all of Ukraine’s electrical grids are not only interconnected but also synchronized with the EU and Moldovan grids.

What many people don’t know is that Ukraine’s power grid was disconnected from Russia and Belarus on the night of Feb. 24, 2022, three and a half hours before the outbreak of full-scale war.

The disconnection had been arranged to test the system’s ability to operate independently for three full days. This was one of the conditions for the future connection of the Ukrainian energy system to the European Union’s grid – a move that was planned for 2023. A more than 300-page agreement with the EU was signed to this effect. Due to the Russian aggression, however, the permanent connection to Europe’s grid happened much earlier than planned – in mid-March 2022. By that time, Russia had already seized the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and begun regular shelling of other energy facilities.

“As long as Russia is our neighbor, we must learn, and teach our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren to live in conditions where light, heat, or water can disappear at any moment. This is our new reality. These are our new rules!” said Olha Babiy, energy advisor to the Secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, in a recent speech. She probably knows better than anyone in Ukraine what kind of energy future awaits us. We understand that the sound of power generators will remain a feature of our streets for a long time to come.

Battling the cold and lack of electricity does not blot out the awareness of conflicts within Ukrainian society. One particularly alarming example is the tragedy that unfolded in late January in Cherkasy region, during which a war veteran shot the four police officers sent to arrest him. He didn’t just shoot them, he first wounded and then shot them dead.

This story is now on everyone’s lips, and the reaction to it among some Ukrainians is raising concerns about our society’s future after the war, when hundreds of thousands of combat veterans return home.

Serhiy Rusinov, a veteran of the Russo-Ukrainian War, had a reputation in his village of Nekhvoroshch, Cherkasy region, 136 kilometers south of Kyiv, as an uncompromising fighter for justice. His two sons are currently serving in the Ukrainian army. According to unconfirmed reports, he had a conflict with a district council member, Viktor Storozhuk. The conflict allegedly stemmed from the local government’s refusal to allocate agricultural land to Rusinov.

Storozhuk denies this claim and maintains that he had no conflict with the veteran, but last December, when Storozhuk’s car was set on fire, the police suspected Rusinov of arson. Most unusually, the incident was registered by the police as the attempted murder of a deputy.

Four experienced police officers, three of whom held the rank of major, were dispatched to arrest Rusinov, but were not given the defendant’s home address. The police began questioning village residents to find out where Rusinov lived. Apparently, one of the neighbors tipped Rusinov off about the police search, and he donned a bulletproof vest and armed himself. As a result, the police were ambushed.

After the death of four police officers, a special forces unit was dispatched to the village, and Serhiy Rusinov was killed. Police released photographs of ammunition and drugs allegedly found in Rusinov’s home. However, fellow veterans and neighbors who knew Rusinov well claimed that the drugs, and possibly even the ammunition, were planted by the police to justify their actions.

It took the regional police leadership a long time to publish an official statement. When it finally appeared, the statement made no mention of drugs and focused on the assertion that “war veteran status cannot be an excuse for serious violations of the law.”

Last Sunday, dozens of war veterans from all over Ukraine gathered in Cherkasy to protest the actions of the local police. They staged a rally in front of the city’s Regional Military Administration and demanded that Serhiy Rusinov’s body be released for burial.

The police officers killed by Rusinov, who, by the way, were also war veterans, have already been buried. Some say the Rusinov’s body has not yet been released for burial because the local authorities fear that his funeral will attract more mourners than attended the funerals of the police officers he killed. The funeral could also trigger further protests against the police.

Ukrainians may despair at this terrible waste of life and feel anger about the sluggish investigation into this and other opaque affairs in the country. However, while the weather stays so cold, and the average Kyiv home enjoys only five to eight hours of electricity per day, there are other matters to worry about.

One thing is for sure, the winter of our discontent is very unlikely to be made as “glorious summer” by anyone in the near future.

The views expressed in this opinion article are the author’s and not necessarily those of Kyiv Post.