It's Extremely Cold and Dark in Kyiv Right Now

"For the first time in a while we have a real winter in Ukraine," one Kyiv resident tells the BBC, which takes a look at how temperatures as low as -2 degrees Fahrenheit and rolling blackouts are shaping daily life in the capital. President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Moscow of deliberately targeting energy facilities to weaponize winter, while Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko has urged anyone who can to temporarily leave the city to ease the strain on critical services. More:

• Locals' stories: One couple who is preparing to leave told the BBC they had four minutes of electricity all day. A mom who sought a reprieve in one of the so-called "Invincibility Trains"—which are parked at stations with engines idling and function as ad hoc warming centers—says she lives on the 17th floor of a high-rise with no electricity, water, or functioning elevator.
• By the numbers: The country's power grid is under intense, cumulative pressure, per Zelensky. On Tuesday he wrote on X that "almost 300 attack drones ... along with 18 ballistic and 7 cruise missiles, were launched by the Russians against Ukraine last night" and aimed at "generation facilities and substations." On Wednesday, he wrote on X the strikes against Ukrainian energy facilities had continued, with a "total of 113 attack drones ... launched."

• Repair efforts: The AP reports Klitschko said Monday night's strikes led to the biggest electrical outage the city has seen. Crews are working around the clock, often in subzero conditions, and digging through frozen ground to locate damaged cables. Even then, fixes are fragile. "Compared to all previous winters, the situation now is the worst," the head of Kyiv-based think tank DiXi Group told the Kyiv Independent website. "Every time it's harder to recover. Everything is under ice, and repairs of cables and grids are now two to four times more complicated."