Putin’s crackdown campaign backfires in dramatic fashion — only to cement Ukraine’s 4-year war
KYIV, Ukraine – Four years after Russia invaded Ukraine, many residents here live without hot water, heating or electricity.
But as they waited in long soup lines for a chance to warm up in winter temperatures, residents told The Post, they’d rather be cold than surrender to Russia’s frigid dictator Vladimir Putin.
“If someone wants to make us lose hope, we will not give up because there will be no respect for us,” said Olha Sukhobok, 48.
Thousands of Kyiv residents have been without heat or electricity for two months after Putin ordered his troops to target Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in order to break the will of the Ukrainian people.
But instead of forcing Ukrainians to agree, Russia’s cold-and-dark campaign is fueling public resistance to what they see as an ineffective deal that would reward Moscow’s aggression without preventing a repeat attack, according to interviews with more than a dozen residents here.
“Russia is striking a power system to make people suffer and panic, maybe force people to leave or make a bad deal. It’s their strategy. They won’t break Ukraine’s will, but psychologically, it’s a lot of pressure,” Sukhobok said, as a World Central Kitchen volunteer handed him a hot bowl of stew.
Russia’s continued brutality against Ukrainian civilians has made it difficult to resist their aggressor, something known to military strategists as losing the “hearts and minds” of the local population.
Experts say that the bombing of civilians rarely forces you to surrender – and often does the opposite, strengthening your resolve. That was played out in the Vietnam War, when the US learned that you can’t bomb people.
“Bombing has historically had a weak record of causing targeted abductions,” said George Barros, head of the Institute for the Study of War’s Russia Program. “Studies of bombing campaigns find that bombing campaigns often strengthen people’s resolve rather than soften their commitment.”
Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, who is leading the countries’ negotiations, told Fox News on Saturday that the conflict is “really a stupid war” because Russia and Ukraine are “fighting – fighting each other.” [over] this place.”
“You know, everyone throws the name of shadow around, but what does shadow get when you’re killed like this?” he said.
But the stakes are higher for Ukrainians living through the war — many of whom have expressed gratitude to President Trump for trying to force Russia to stop targeting Ukraine’s power grid.
Tetiana Zamrii, 35, said she could see why some Americans might think the end of the war would be easy since Kyiv signed over 15% of the left-hand side of the Ukrainian-controlled Donbas to Russia, but she said it would be like abandoning hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians living there.
“I understand those people because they think it will be a solution to this problem, we are tired and I understand why many people want the war to end soon,” he said. “They think that part of our country is unnecessary – but all our people are.”
Originally from Donetsk – a city now controlled by Russia in the Donbas – Zamrii said he was getting used to life during the war.
“Sometimes there are bad days with these endless negotiations. The war just changes,” he said. “It’s dark at night, but the sun still rises – and I rise every day.”
Four years into Russia’s full-scale invasion, he and other Ukrainians say they have simply accepted that the war may last for the rest of their lives. They have adapted to their new “normal”, just as the world has had to adapt to new ways of living during this pandemic.
“I have life hacks,” said Zamrii. When the power goes out, I light candles and put on extra clothes.”
She also dresses her hairless cat, Lola, in a sweater, and next to her bed she has placed a small electric heater connected to a power bank.
The city of Kyiv has also received “hacks,” who set up closed, heated tents to give people relief from the cold. Inside, children’s books and toys are placed on tables to entertain the children of families who are just trying to warm themselves.
Zamrii and others in his area have also been without hot water since early January, and Kyiv says it may not be fixed until the summer. They do it by boiling water on gas stoves before pouring it into large containers to pour into the bathtub, Zamrii said.
Some say that Putin is not rooted in hearts and minds because he is more interested in killing Ukrainians than in getting support to join Russia.
“They don’t want Ukrainians to be there,” said a man named Anatoliy, who was queuing for hot WCK soup. “It’s genocide.”
He used the word “holod-omor” — using the word “holod” for cold in reference to the Holodomor, Joseph Stalin’s 1930 campaign to starve Ukrainians in the early years of the Soviet Union.
“The main reason is to destroy the Ukrainian nation,” he said. “They used to wipe out our nation with Holodomor, now they are doing it with holo-omor.”
“They are using this weather to destroy us as a nation and a population,” added Anatoliy.
So far, Russia has killed about 15,000 civilians since the start of the war on February 24, 2022. At least 10 of those were Ukrainians who died, according to public reports.
Asked if Putin’s targeting of energy infrastructure would work, the 67-year-old gave a firm “no”.
“The Russians wanted to take care of it within three days; it’s been four years,” Anatoliy said. “We fight, we are together. We have some problems, but we get together.”
