How Ukraine Keeps Warm When Russia Bombs

Russia has been attacking Ukraine almost nightly with Iranian-designed Shahed drones. Ukrainian power stations are prime targets as winter weather sets in and Moscow seeks to cause civilian suffering and demoralization. The suffering is real, but the Kyiv region’s police have an ingeniously effective way of countering the demoralization.

On a visit to Kyiv last winter, I asked to see the local transformer station. Standing amid transformers in the 21-degree cold, an official said: “Because all our power stations were built during the Soviet era, the Russians have the blueprints for all of them. They know exactly where to aim their missiles to do the maximum damage.” One got through the next night, plunging Kyiv into darkness. The buildings became ghostly silhouettes.