# Ukraine's hardest winter yet, says the UN

> A senior UN official says Ukraine enters winter on a weak base, with a race on to fix the grid before the cold hits.
- Title: Ukraine's hardest winter yet, says the UN · BBC News
- Summary: A senior UN official says Ukraine enters winter on a weak base, with a race on to fix the grid before the cold hits. Ukraine's winter risk is not the cold…
- Keywords: ukraine, russia, united nations, energy, winter, news, world, Ukraine's, hardest, BBC News
- Source: BBC News — https://bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwyz59yyqk4o
- Published: 2026-09-12T05:55:15.955+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: ukraine, russia, united nations, energy, winter, news, world
## The toughest winter yet
Alexander De Croo, head of the UN development agency, told the BBC that Ukraine faces its hardest winter since Russia's full-scale invasion began in 2022.

> This winter is going to be the toughest one since the war
## A race against the clock
De Croo, the UN's third most senior official, says crews are scrambling to repair the power network before temperatures plummet.
## Faster drones, harder to stop
Russia has begun using jet-powered drones that Ukraine's air defences struggle to intercept, in round-the-clock attacks focused on Kyiv.
## Infrastructure in the crosshairs
Strikes have hit petrol stations, warehouses, factories, business centres and transmission lines. Ukraine keeps striking Russian gas and oil sites. Both sides deny targeting civilians.

> There is absolutely no justification for that
## Malls hit, civilians killed
A daytime drone strike on a shopping mall in Pavlohrad killed five and wounded 67. Earlier in the week, malls in Zaporizhzhia and Sumy were hit, killing two.
## The war spills outward
Russia says a Ukrainian seaborne drone attack on Sochi wounded 28. Two people died when Russian drones hit a border crossing between Ukraine and Moldova.
## Rebuilding under air alarms
The UNDP is repairing last winter's damage and building decentralised plants that are harder to hit. De Croo calls the job almost impossible.

> They know that they are working at a site which is a target
## Key takeaway

Ukraine's winter risk is not the cold itself, it is whether repair crews can restore heat, power and water faster than strikes take them out.