Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk advised Ukrainians who left the country because of the war not to come home this winter:
You can see for yourself: Russia has moved on to terrorizing civilians; it cannot fight the [Ukrainian] army; it’s losing in battle. I’m going to ask you not to come back. We have to make it through the winter. Regrettably, the grid is not going to hold up — you can see what Russia is doing. Don’t come back. If you have the means to spend this winter abroad, do it.
Since October 10, the Russian military has conducted massive air strikes on Ukrainian cities and the country’s critical infrastructure. 30–40 percent of Ukraine’s power plants were damaged as a result.
According to the United Nations’ Ukraine Emergency data, as of the middle of September, more than 12.6 million people had left Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion. More than 5 million have already returned to Ukraine.
Follow Meduza in English on Twitter to stay up to date.