Behind Enemy Lines on the Home Front

"[Putin is] clearly weaponizing winter to inflict immense suffering on the Ukrainian people [and] trying to freeze the country into submission."

"Having struggled on the battlefield Moscow is now adopting a cowardly and inhumane strategy that punishes Ukrainian men, women and children."

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations

"We have chopped wood, we will survive."

"They [Russian invaders] have destroyed my apartment already. That was worse than this. This is our life and our life has prepared us."

"We will not give up, and everything that happened in March was much worse than now. We already know it can be worse."

Tatiana, Ukrainian internally displaced citizen

"I am a bit worried about winter but we have been preparing getting firewood ready and warm clothing."

"More than anything we hope that there will not be another invasion."

"Although we had no electricity [for six months under Russian military occupation], somehow we survived."

"Human beings will find a way to survive in any conditions."

Artem Famenko, 39, municipal water department worker, Izyum, Ukraine

Tetiana Reznychenko, a resident of the Ukrainian village of Horenka, shovels snow near her apartment building, which has no electricity, heating or running water, November  2022

 

In preparation for being plunged into the icy depths of winter, Ukrainians in the east in particular are gathering firewood, knowing how imperative it is to be self-reliant at a time their country is under siege by an aggressor pursuing a punishing strategy of forcing millions of ordinary citizens to scrounge for materials in the hopes of getting through a stark winter without electricity and heat; possibly a shortage of food and medicines, and potable water.

The city of Izyum in the east, occupied by the Russian military for six months and finally freed from Russian occupation and the indignities, dangers and hardships accompanying that state, are relieved they have been returned to Ukrainian rule through a Ukrainian military counteroffensive that routed the Russian military. The city, however, was ransacked and much of it ruined. And now that the Russians hastily retreated, they still aim their missiles and drones at the city, acts of war against civilian infrastructure.

City residents will take whatever opportunity presents itself to stock up on firewood, including chopping  ammunition crates discarded by the retreating Russian military. The outlook for survival is grim but they face it with confidence, Ukrainians preparing themselves, knowing that mid-winter will bring plunging temperatures as low as -20C and the prospect of a winter as miserable as those they suffered through during World War II.

 

Members of Ukrainian army prepare BM-21 Grad rockets to be launched in Bakhmut, Donetsk, Ukraine on November 26, 2022

 

They are under no illusions, knowing full well that it is not only the brutal winter cold without adequate heating and electricity that will test their endurance, but the constant shelling of civilian infrastructure, from apartment buildings to hospitals that will challenge the resolve of the people to endure and hope for better days and an end to the 9-month-long war. There is much work to be done, firewood chopped and ready, windows to be covered for cold-insulation and amassing warm winter clothing.

"[Putin's Wednesday barrage had created a situation not seen for 80 or 90 years] -- a country on the European continent where there was no light."

"Together we endured nine months of full-scale war and Russia has not found a way to break us, and will not find one."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

"Put simply, this winter will be about survival."

"We expect two to three million more people to leave their homes in search of warmth and safety."

Dr. Hans Kluge, Europe director World Health Organization

For most people who refused to leave their city for other parts of Ukraine more secure and further from enemy lines, the fear is the possibility of a return by the Russian occupiers. The occupation from March to just a few weeks ago was agonizing, a terrible time in the lives of the residents of Izyum and other nearby communities. The prospect of their winter hardships while concerning, seems less worrisome than the thought of falling under Russian occupation again.

 

Ongoing waves of Russian missiles and explosive drones badly damaged the entire country's power grid, knocking up to half of the country's capacity off line. Some of the most damaging attacks struck the system in midweek. Half of Kyiv was still without power two days later, while engineers struggled to reconnect people to the grid. Authorities established "invincibility centres" for people to charge their phones, to warm up and to be given hot drinks. 

Aid agencies warn that winter will see misery on a greater scale afflict a people already under huge stress by relentless Russian missile attacks targeting the width and breadth of the country Russian is doing its best to eviscerate Ukraine. Over six million Ukrainian citizens left their homes in a mass movement to other, safer parts of the country. A like number of Ukrainian refugees have gone abroad for safe haven. Their government has appealed to them to remain where they are through the winter, to save energy for use in hospitals and other critical social welfare establishments.

A view from Kyiv after the snow hits capital city on November 19, 2022 as Russia-Ukraine war continues in Ukraine

 

For Ukrainians living in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine, no assistance has trickled through since the beginning of the conflict. With winter offering more difficulties to daily living, the concern is that they may succumb to the necessity to make perilous trips across front lines. "It's going to be an incredibly difficult winter and providing humanitarian assistance is a matter of life and death" Marysia Zapasnik, Ukraine director for the International Rescue Committee aid agency, said grimly.Troops on either side, are facing living in the open under freezing rain conditions.

Some Ukrainian servicemen are beginning to suffer from trench foot, a condition associated with swelling and numbness of the feet. Hopes are high nonetheless that they will be able to endure the rigours of winter better than their poorly equipped Russian counterparts. Lacking proper winter equipment and clothing, newly mobilized Russian forces complain of being thrown into the forest unprepared.

"Of course we are nervous. We understand winter is coming and we understand that the attacks will continue."

"All these strikes are concentrating our community, concentrating our nation to unite. Yes the situation is hard, but it's a great mistake for our enemy to think they can change the will of the Ukrainian people."

Mayor Igor Terekhov, Kharkiv, eastern Ukraine

Winter weather could disproportionately harm poorly-equipped Russian forces in Ukraine,' defence analysts from the ISW said (destroyed Russian convoy pictured in Bucha, March 1 2022

"The Killing Does Not Stop"

"Ukraine needs clear guarantees of its security but, so far, we see the Russian side is not fulfilling even elementary agreements on humanitarian corridors for the exit of civilians from the encircled cities."

"Civilians are simply being destroyed with Russian weapons."

"Look at what is happening to them in Ukraine. NATO is many times stronger than our armed forces and yet Ukraine has held back a full scale offensive by one of the world's largest armies for a second week. Do you really think Russia has the potential for World War Three? Stop this self-hypnosis."

"Of course we want peace. But this does not mean that we will agree to the dismantling of our freedom and our democracy, our natural European aspirations. If Russia takes a position based on reality, not on unrealistic ambitions, then progress is possible."

"So far, we've seen that the Russian side does not ensure the fulfillment of things that are promised. Russian troops shoot people when they try to leave the occupied cities."

"Russian troops are shelling routes along which an exit of people could be organized, particularly in Mariupol and Volnovakha. So I have to state that the Russian side manipulates these rounds more than it actually invests in the negotiations."

"Negotiations are not a date to get to know each other and look for something in common. Contact is a false goal ... you need to be result-oriented. On Sunday, in Irpin, a city on the outskirts of Kyiv, Russian troops opened fire on civilians who were trying to get out of the city. A total of eight people died, including a family with two children ... In Kyiv, a Russian cruise missile was shot down over Ukraine's most important children's hospital ... the killing does not stop."

"President Zelenskyy has repeatedly offered direct negotiations with Vladimir Putin. So far, we have not received a positive response. Why? Is it possible that on the Russian side there is a lack of confidence in Putin?"

"If the West is afraid to create a humanitarian no-fly zone, then there must be a decision to transfer combat aircraft to us. We are, of course, very grateful to our partners for the sanctions but the ongoing massacres of civilians in Ukraine show that existing sanctions are not enough.You have to understand Russia is actually a very poor country. With the exception of some large cities and a rather small segment of people who benefit from the flow of oil and gas dollars, most Russian citizens live a very difficult, hopeless and poor life."

"They will feel the pain of the rise in prices and loss of opportunities but this is not new -- they've always been made to live like that."

Mikhail Podolyak, chief negotiator, Ukraine 

A Ukrainian firefighter works at an apartment building after it was hit by artillery shelling in Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 14. (Vadim Ghirda/AP)

 

The negotiations between Ukraine and Russia to put a stop to the ongoing invasion seem pointless as long as Russian troops have their standing orders to continue attacking Ukrainian cities, and the expectation by Moscow is that they will continue their attacks, including the shelling of corridors established to enable civilian evacuation of bombarded cities, in the hope of saving lives from an enemy invader that appears to be flouting all civilized rules of warfare meant to protect civilian lives.

Russian forces continue to fire on civilians attempting to evacuate through these humanitarian corridors, effectively trapping vulnerable people within partially occupied cities coming under continual fire. Ensuring that those citizens remain in place in inhumane insecurity, facing a shortage of food and medical supplies, where their electricity and heating have been cut off and potable water resources are faltering. 

Mikhail Podolyak, isolated in a bunker in Kyiv, accuses Russia of "manipulating" the talks hoping to lead to peace, and in the process promising cease-fires that never come to fruition; a severe betrayal of any expectation that Ukraine negotiators can rely on a serious response to their efforts to sway Russian negotiators to send their offers of conciliation back to Moscow for serious consideration. Even slight agreements on temporarily holding back fire to enable people to reach safety has not been communicated to the troops.

 

Mr. Podolyak is one of President Zelenskyy's most trusted aides, entrusted with leading three rounds of negotiating talks with the Russian negotiating delegation. His experience during those talks has led him to hold out faint hope for a breakthrough to be achieved any time soon. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov claims that should Ukraine agree to cede Crimea to Russia, recognize Donetsk and Luhansk as independent and that done, commit to not joining NATO or the European Union, the conflict could conclude "immediately".

 

A firefighter carries a hose in front of a residential building that was hit by a shell in the Obolon district in Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 14. (Thomas Peter/Reuters)

In contrast to Mr. Podolyak's position of skepticism over Russia's willingness to reasonably debate the critical issues with a view to stopping the violence, the Russian lead negotiator Vladimir Medinsky, claims progress has been achieved. To achieve any measure of progress between the two sides however, seems as remote as it was before the talks were initiated, according to this senior Ukrainian negotiator.

 

And in a spirit not of optimism but of faint hope, Mr. Podolyak repeated his country's request for a NATO no-fly zone over Ukraine's skies. "Thousands of houses, hundreds of businesses, a significant part of them destroyed from the air, by missiles and combat aircraft. If the Russian troops did not have such support from the air, they would not have been able to wreak such havoc."

 

When the issue came up during an interview of the death of a fellow Ukrainian negotiator, Denis Kireev, Mr. Podolyak was silent. Reports from Russia claimed the negotiator to have been killed as he was being arrested for treason. "This man died performing a task in the interests of the Ukrainian state", he responded. Without going into the obvious explanation that doing anything at all to favour Ukraine over Russia merits the charge of treason on Russia's part.

 

"Most of our cities that Russia planned to capture are fighting bravely. In cities that are temporarily occupied, there are mass protests ... this is real civic heroism: people coming out unarmed with a national flag against armed invaders and demanding that they get out of our country."Ukraine will not give up its freedom and will not give up its democracy", he averred with pride.

Talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine will resume, as fighting rages around the country Photograph: Aris Messinis/AFP/Getty Images

Ukrainian Bio-LabThreatening Russia?

"[There is likely a] high degree of probability that the United States and its Western allies were producing chemicals for the distinct purpose of selectively attacking] various [groups from within the population of Russia]." 

"[Documents uncovered by the Russian military in Ukraine on 24 February - the day the Russian invasion started] show that the Ministry of Health of Ukraine has set the task of completely destroying bio-agents in laboratories."

"The Pentagon knows that if these documents fall into the hands of Russian experts, then it's highly likely that Ukraine and the United States will be found to have violated the Convention on the Prohibition of Biological and Toxin Weapons."

General Igor Kirillov, head, Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Troops, Russian Armed Forces

Russian state TV has been showing sites which officials say are being used to develop bioweapons

 

"There are no indications that Ukrainian labs have been involved in any nefarious activity, or any research or development in contravention of the Biological Weapons Convention."

Filippa Lentzos, biosecurity expert, King's College London

 

"[The World Health Organization advised Ukraine to destroy high-threat pathogens stored at the country's public health labs to prevent] any potential spills [that would spread disease among the population]."  

"[The agency collaborated with Ukrainian public health labs for several years to enhance biosafety and biosecurity and help prevent] accidental or deliberate release of pathogens."  

World Health Organization

 

"These labs publish in openly available literature."

"They collaborate on many public health projects with global partners."

Brett Edwards, senior lecturer, security and public policy, University of Bath

"Devoting considerable sums of money and significant resources to conducting bioweapons research makes no strategic sense for Ukraine given the difficulty in using them in a conflict."  

"Conventional warfare weapons are much easier and more effective to use for countries like Ukraine."                                                                                                      Dan Kaszeta, former US serviceman, expert on defence against biological weapons

The US says it funds work in Ukrainian labs to tackle dangerous diseases  Getty Images

 Back in 1991, several former Soviet bioweapons laboratories in Ukraine underwent conversion by the United States, becoming facilities meant to decommission weapons of mass destruction. For the obvious purpose of preventing them from falling into the possession of those who might wish to use them following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. This appears to be the program that has now sparked conspiracy theories, useful to Russian propaganda intent on painting Ukraine and its Western allies with broad, black strokes of threats by whatever means, to Russia.

In 1992 when then-Russian Premier Boris Yeltsin, visited the United Kingdom, at a time when relations between Russia and the West were on a friendly track with signs of warming trust and collegiality, he spoke with members of the Defence Intelligence Staff, telling them that Russian bioweapons scientists were undertaking research into the influence on human genes of chemical substances.

This was echoed years later when Dr.Christopher Davis, serving on the Defence Intelligence Staff spoke of the research as having opened the door to a weapon that could be indiscriminately sprayed, yet it would prove lethal to only "certain people it was designed to find and attack". Russia has first-hand knowledge of the potential of developing biological weapons to target individuals of a distinct ethnic group, since Russia itself developed such weapons in the past.

Scientists are notoriously inquisitive about the nature of things and their interaction; it is what moves science forward, for good and for ill. Laboratories may not be involved directly in formulating bioweapons, but legitimate fears abound with respect to "dual-use" biological research. The type of research whose product could feasibly be used for nefarious purposes, once in the wrong hands.

In 2019, the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk at Cambridge University circulated a warning of the possibility that biological weapons could be formulated and produced for the very purpose of targeting a demographic representing a particular ethnic group, based entirely on their DNA. Russia's new claims warning that Ukraine was producing just such weapons, fall directly into the type of claims that follow a typical pattern of disinformation linked to Russian propaganda.

 

Dr. Filippa Lentzos, co-director of the Centre for Science and Security Studies at King's College London, had on an earlier occasion tackled similar claims made by Russia of the existence of a laboratory in Georgia dedicated to a similar purpose, to justify its invasion and conflict with Georgia, another former USSR satellite which was anxious to go its own way of independence with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Reports in Russian state media in 2018 claimed untested drugs were given to citizens at a lab funded by the U.S. in Georgia.

 

A convoy of pro-Russian troops are seen outside the separatist-controlled town of Volnovakha in the Eastern Ukrainian Donetsk region on Saturday. (Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters)

 

Now the very same claims, under very similar circumstances are once again being trotted out to justify Russia's need to invade Ukraine leading to the destruction not of a putative bioweapons laboratory but the entire national infrastructure. When Russia invaded Georgia, it re-possessed the allegiance of two provinces. Moscow has already done that in Ukraine, repeating the very same pattern that the Kremlin never seems to tire of, declaring eastern Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk regions in the Donbas to be independent of Ukraine; Russian territory. With Crimea thrown in for good measure.

 

And with Mariupol encircled and battered with artillery and constant shelling, with the bombing of apartment buildings, schools, government offices and hospitals it too is meant to fall into Russian hands to provide a land link between Russia and the Crimean peninsula. A gradual, creeping reclamation of a sovereign geography Moscow claims historically to be part of Greater Russia.

 

A woman puts her head in her hands as she sits on a cot in a shelter, set up for displaced persons fleeing Ukraine, inside a school gymnasium in Przemysl, Poland, Tuesday, March 8, 2022. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)