The lights have gone out. In Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Odesa, and countless Ukrainian cities, towns and villages, families huddle in cold apartments and dwellings as temperatures have plunged well below freezing. Hospitals rely on backup generators that can unexpectedly fail. Water pumps go out, heating systems die, elevators in tall buildings stop working, and frozen food sections in supermarkets remain empty. This is Ukraine in the winter of 2025-26. The cause is not a freak natural disaster, but a