UA new noise has been added to that of the air raid sirens in kyiv, disturbing the deceptive appearance of carefreeness of the Ukrainian capital under the June sun: that of generators. A collateral effect of the war that has been raging in the east of the country for almost two and a half years, their deafening hum is becoming familiar on the doorsteps of restaurants whose terraces are full. Because the Russian offensive is not only targeting soldiers in the trenches or civilian buildings in urban areas; it is also proceeding with the methodical destruction of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, causing chronic power cuts that are exhausting the population.
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Systematic undermining work, this destruction, considered in international law a war crime, has already wiped out 50% of the electricity generation capacity in Ukraine and attacks storage infrastructure. The goal, according to the authorities, is to make cities unlivable. How to deal with winter without heating? Kharkiv, the country’s second city, is regularly shelled. “I don’t think the Russians want to take Kharkivcomments a senior Ukrainian officer. They seek to terrorize people and force them to leave the cities. »
Wanted by Vladimir Putin, the war is taking hold, like the generators or the processions of soldiers in fatigues accompanying the coffin of one of their own at the Saint-Michel chapel, a tragically ordinary spectacle in kyiv. War of attrition, war of attrition, permanent war, it promises to be long, since, on the other hand, in Russia, the economy, the army and society have been reorganized in the service of this war. In their resistance to the aggressor, the Ukrainians have reached the stage where, exhausted by a sprint, we understand that we must, in reality, run a marathon. The time has come to change software, in all areas.
Wear at the power level
The most sensitive area is that of mobilization. Replacing the soldiers who have been holding the front with difficulty since 2022 and building the reserve force that is sorely lacking is proving to be an immense challenge for society. We discover in passing, during interviews with Ukrainian civil and military officials organized by the French Institute of International Relations and the local think tank New Europe Center, for the most part under cover of anonymity, that the idea of Welcoming foreign instructors on site to train recruits is, for them, primarily of political interest: it would be, recognizes an officer, excellent for the morale of the population, as well as a message to Russia.
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