Russia's defense ministry posted photographs of attack drones in flight on its Telegram channel, captioned "like snow on your head," and told Ukrainians that "in winter, you'll get a freeze." The ministry attached the threat to its own earlier claim of strikes on Ukrainian port infrastructure and vessels.

The post puts in writing what Russia has done to Ukrainian civilians through every winter of the full-scale war: strike the power and heating grid to leave homes cold and dark. What is new is not the tactic but the candor — a ministry that usually insists it hits only military targets openly advertising the coming assault on the systems that keep civilians warm. And the taunt lands as Ukraine heads into the season more exposed than at any point in the war: President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told CNN this week that the country holds about 1% of the Patriot interceptors it needs to get through winter.

The winter campaign Russia is advertising

Since late 2022, Russia has systematically struck Ukraine's electricity, gas, and heating infrastructure, causing rolling blackouts and cutting heat and water during freezing weather. Ukrainian officials have repeatedly called the campaign "energy terrorism," and grid operators say the strikes have shifted toward knocking out entire energy districts rather than staging single mass barrages. This summer Russia widened the target set again: on 13 August a Russian drone set port infrastructure alight in Odesa Oblast and damaged a civilian vessel at a Mykolaiv port, the national rail operator and regional officials reported — the same kind of strike the ministry's post was boasting about.

Ukraine enters winter short of the weapon that stops ballistic missiles

The threat is heavier because Ukraine cannot reliably stop the missiles that would carry it out. Zelenskyy told CNN that selling Kyiv 5% of current US Patriot stocks would carry it through winter and 10% would let it "destroy all the Russians' ballistic missiles" — but that he holds 1%. On 5 August, Russia fired 28 ballistic and anti-ship missiles at Kyiv and Ukraine intercepted none, killing 17 people. July was the deadliest month for Ukrainian civilians since April 2022, according to the UN.

Europe is scrambling to add generation before the cold sets in. Finland said on 13 August it would fund a €28.5 million ($33.2 million) power plant project for Ukraine, one of several efforts to keep the lights on when the strikes resume. Ukrainian officials have warned that the coming winter could be more difficult than any before it.

Finland will provide €28.5 million ($33.2 million) to support new power generation in Ukraine, with Finnish company Wärtsilä selected to supply the equipment, Finland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on 13 August.

Ukraine’s power system has been repeatedly damaged by Russian attacks, leaving the country facing each winter with reduced generation capacity and a heightened risk of electricity and heating disruptions. Strengthening distributed generation is therefore a key part of keeping essential services running when further strikes hit the energy grid, as they are expected to do ahead of the 2026-27 winter season.

The total value of the power plant technology is €46.5 million, with Ukraine covering the remaining cost. The plants will be manufactured in Vaasa, Finland, with the Ministry saying it will support Finnish jobs and exports while adding generation capacity to Ukraine’s war-damaged energy system.

Power generation for Ukraine’s winter

Ukraine’s state energy company Ukrnafta is purchasing the power plants to strengthen electricity production, with the need particularly acute ahead of another winter under Russian attacks.

“Reliable energy production is vital, particularly in winter months, when Russian strikes on energy infrastructure have made day-to-day life in Ukraine difficult,” Finland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

Russia has repeatedly targeted Ukraine’s electricity generation, transmission, gas, and heating infrastructure since the full-scale invasion. The attacks have caused widespread blackouts and damaged or destroyed large parts of Ukraine’s generation capacity.

Previous winters have shown the consequences. Russian strikes have repeatedly caused rolling blackouts, while damage to heating infrastructure has threatened access to heat and water during freezing weather.

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Behind the black windows: How Kyiv survives a winter in the dark

Ukrainian officials have warned that the coming winter could be more difficult than previous ones, as Russia is expected to again target Ukraine’s energy, heating, and water infrastructure. Russia has already intensified attacks on Ukrainian civilians and civilian infrastructure this summer, raising concerns that the campaign against essential services could escalate further during the winter months.

Finnish technology heads to Ukraine

Wärtsilä Finland Oy will manufacture the power plants in Vaasa.

Finnish Foreign Trade and Development Minister Ville Tavio said the project combines support for Ukraine with Finland’s energy-sector expertise.

“Finland has world class energy sector expertise that can benefit Ukraine’s reconstruction efforts,” Tavio said. “I am pleased that Finnish technology and Finnish workers are playing a part in strengthening the security of Ukraine’s energy supply.”

How Finland is financing the project

The €28.5 million Finnish contribution comes through the Finland–Ukraine Investment Facility, which supports public investments in Ukraine using Finnish technology, expertise, and services.

Finland’s funding will cover the interest costs and capital of the investment loan Ukraine will take out for the project. Finnish export credit agency Finnvera is providing a 100% export guarantee for the loan.

The project combines immediate energy support for Ukraine with Finnish financing, technology, and manufacturing capacity.

Russia is trying to knock out Ukraine's gas production before the cold comes. Russia carried out massive strikes on the assets of the Naftogaz Group in eastern, western, and central Ukraine, the company reported.

The strikes target Ukraine's ability to produce the gas it needs for winter. The Russians aim to inflict maximum damage on Ukrainian production and other critical infrastructure to make preparation for the heating season impossible, acting Naftogaz chairman Serhii Fedorenko said, calling the intensity of attacks on oil-and-gas infrastructure sharply higher in recent days.

The strikes hit extraction across the country

Russia targeted the sites where Ukraine pulls gas from the ground. On the night of 9 August, the extraction assets of Ukrnafta and a company drilling site came under massive attack, with Russian forces using dozens of strike drones against the extraction infrastructure.

The damage stopped production. There is substantial destruction at the site; part of the equipment has been put out of commission, and the asset's operation has been halted. However, safety measures meant that workers at the attacked facilities were unhurt.

Fuel stations and production sites were also hit

The campaign extended to Naftogaz's retail and production network. On 7 and 8 August, seven UKRNAFTA filling complexes in Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Mykolaiv oblasts came under drone attack, and a worker at one station was injured and is in hospital receiving care.

Central Ukraine was struck, too. On 8 August, Russia attacked Naftogaz production facilities in the central part of the country with jet-powered drones, and the facility suffered serious destruction, though staff were in shelter at the time of the strike.

The target is the heating season

The strikes match the warning from First Deputy Prime Minister and Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal, who has said Russia's aim this winter is to destroy the systems Ukrainians need to survive the cold, from power to water, Politico reported. Damaging gas production now, months before winter, is meant to leave Ukraine unable to heat itself when temperatures drop, turning the coming season into another front against civilians in Russia's war.

Luxembourg contributed an additional €8 million ($8.7 million) to the Ukraine Energy Support Fund, raising its total donations to €30 million ($32.7 million), Ukraine's Ministry of Energy reported.

The contribution arrives as the fund—which crossed €2 billion ($2.18 billion) in total lifetime contributions in July—races to close a €650 million ($709 million) gap in unfunded needs ahead of the 2026/2027 winter season. Russia has destroyed more than 9 gigawatts of generation capacity since the start of the most recent heating season alone, and all previously available fund resources have been fully contracted.

Luxembourg's steady commitment

This marks Luxembourg's fourth donation to the fund since 2024. The country initially transferred €2 million in 2024, followed by €10 million in June 2025 and another €10 million in December 2025. The latest €8 million brings the total to €30 million—a notable sum from a country with a population of roughly 660,000.

Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal thanked Luxembourg and its Agency for Development Cooperation for what he called systematic support for Ukrainian energy, adding that the contribution would help provide energy companies with essential equipment and strengthen the resilience of Ukraine's power grid, European Pravda reported.

A fund preparing for its fifth wartime winter

The Energy Support Fund was established in April 2022 and is managed by the Energy Community Secretariat. It has become the primary international mechanism for channeling emergency energy assistance to Ukraine, with contributions from 37 donors across 26 countries and three international organizations.

In a June 2026 joint statement, the G7+ Energy Ramstein Group identified €650 million in priority needs for winter preparation and called for swift mobilization of additional funding.

Luxembourg's contribution is part of a broader wave of European support. Ireland announced €25 million ($29 million) for energy and critical infrastructure protection during its prime minister's visit to Kyiv on 23 July. Sweden's €123 million contribution on 8 July pushed the fund past the €2 billion milestone. Denmark has also recently added over €10 million.

Russia has found a way to make a Ukrainian winter deadlier than power cuts alone. Russia's new goal is the targeted destruction of Ukraine's water systems, First Deputy Prime Minister and Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal said in an interview with Politico published on 4 August.

Water is the one utility people cannot outlast. Last winter, Russia targeted electricity and heating, which people could survive with gas and water, but without water and sewage, it is hard to survive more than three days.

Destroying water systems could turn a winter blackout from an ordeal into a threat to life itself.

The energy grid is already devastated

The water warning comes on top of damage that has gutted Ukraine's power generation. Before 2014, Ukraine produced 54.5 gigawatts of electricity. The full-scale war cut that number to 32 GW, and after last winter's strikes, Ukraine was generating only about 12 GW, a shortfall of 6 GW that forces rolling blackouts nationwide.

The cumulative toll is staggering. Russia has destroyed or damaged more than 80% of Ukraine's power-generating capacity, the minister said. Ukraine now produces less than a quarter of the electricity it produced before Russia's war began.

Ukraine is racing to fund resilience before the cold

Shmyhal put numbers on what Ukraine needs to get through the winter. Ukraine requires $585 million from Western partners to boost its energy resilience before winter, and an additional $468 million to help the state gas company, Naftogaz, recover from Russian attacks, with Kyiv hoping for Canadian support.

Meanwhile, Ukraine is answering Russia's energy war with its own. Its long-range strikes have knocked out about 40% of the Kremlin's main refining capacity, causing fuel shortages across Russia, and Kyiv hopes those strikes and allied sanctions push Russian leader Vladimir Putin to end the war this fall, Shmyhal said. If that fails, Ukraine faces a repeat of last winter, with water systems now in the crosshairs.