Russian forces have weaponized winter in Ukraine, targeting thermal plants that heat residential neighborhoods like Troieshchyna in Kyiv. The attacks of early January severed heat and electricity for over 400,000 households, leaving 6,000 buildings uninhabitable during one of Ukraine's coldest winters in nearly two decades.

Ukrainians have dubbed this campaign the "kholodomor" - a chilling portmanteau of "cold" and "plague." More than 600,000 residents fled the city seeking warmth and safety, while others remained in frigid apartments, lining floors with blankets for insulation. "I'm very depressed because of all of this," one resident told reporters. "People say, 'You should enjoy life because you are still alive.' I'm not sure I want to stay alive."

International law prohibits deliberate attacks on civilian energy infrastructure, yet the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in 2024 for four senior Russian military officers involved in these strikes. The charges: crimes against humanity. After the warrants were issued, the attacks intensified, demonstrating a calculated strategy to deny sanctuary to civilians by targeting their life-support systems.