Ukrainians brace for -20C despite energy truce: 'It will be a catastrophe'

3 hours agoSarah RainsfordEastern Europe correspondent, DniproMatthew Goddard/BBCYulia has had no central heating since Russia targeted the power gridIt's not the electricity cuts that Yulia Hailunas struggles with most after the Russian airstrikes. It's the fact that it's so bitterly cold inside her own home.Like so many Ukrainians, she's had no central heating since Russia launched a wave of targeted attacks on the power grid in January.So Yulia now lives in a long, quilted coat and hat in her flat, and rests her feet on a saucepan-full of hot water to keep them from freezing. If that's not enough, she lifts weights for 10 minutes to get warm.When the weather outside is above zero, it's just about bearable. But later this weekend, the temperature in Dnipro is forecast to plunge below -20C.In Kyiv and elsewhere, it could be colder still."That's what's really scary, because all the heating pipes will burst and we won't be able to repair them again. It will be a catastrophe," Yulia worries.On Thursday, Donald Trump announced that Vladimir Putin had agreed to halt attacks on Ukraine's major cities during the "horrendously cold" snap, supposedly for a week.The US president called it "very nice" of his Russian counterpart to agree to an energy truce. But details were sparse from the start.The next day, the Kremlin clarified that Putin's burst of good will expires on Sunday, just as the coldest weather bites.There is usually a week or more gap between massive aerial attacks in any case, so it's unclear whether Russia has actually paused anything.There has been no major strike since 24 January, when hundreds of tower blocks in Kyiv lost power and heating."It has been quieter for a bit, but I don't know if that's linked," a doubtful Yulia says, suspecting the strikes will restart at any moment."I think Putin wants to turn people against their government, to have them say: 'Just give Russia anything to make this stop'," Yulia says."He wants to break us, but it won't work."Ukraine's heating system is breaking down though.The Geneva Convention, the laws of war, bans attacks on infrastructure that cause excessive harm to civilians. But this is the fourth winter in a row that the energy grid has been targeted by Russia deliberately, leaving it more fragile and harder to repair after each successive strike.Engineers have been drafted in from Ukraine's national rail company and elsewhere, working around the clock to restore electricity, and to defrost and patch up the heating pipes that run beneath giant apartment blocks in Dnipro, Kyiv and beyond.An extended pause in strikes on the sector would provide a welcome break, but few Ukrainians trust Russia to deliver that.That's because, elsewhere, the deadly strikes have not stopped.Matthew Goddard/BBCFamilies who have fled their homes gather at a centre for the displacedOn Friday, one person was killed and several injured when a bus in Kherson was hit by shelling, while there were multiple air raid warnings for drones.And all along the eastern frontline, the fighting is as intense as ever, still forcing civilians to flee their homes.In Pavlohrad, about 40 miles from the front, we found families dazed after evacuating, abandoning everything, with no idea whether they'll ever go back.They were queuing to register at a centre for the displaced, offered a small handout of cash, food and toiletries by volunteers.Kateryna cried as she told me how hard it had been to leave Vasylkivka, where she had lived all her life. "It's like abandoning a piece of yourself," she said.But she had to protect her two young children, scared by the explosions."Our village wasn't touched at first, but now it's a total combat zone. The drones are hitting every day," her mother Iryna described the Russian advance."One day there were 50 Shahed drones overhead."Matthew Goddard/BBCKateryna left her village to protect her two young children from the fighting that continues along the front linesTrump sees the energy truce - a halt to massive aerial attacks on Ukraine's big cities - as a way of reducing tension as he pushes for progress in peace talks.He pledged to end this war "in a day" long ago but now admits doing so is difficult.Ukraine has agreed to mirror Moscow's actions by halting its own strikes on oil refineries in Russia and its shadow fleet of tankers that move Russian oil around the world, evading sanctions.The trade pumps vital money into Russia's war economy, but Kyiv wants to show Trump its willingness in his peace efforts.Another round of negotiations is scheduled to take place in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday, though it seems no senior US delegates will attend.The US has been talking up progress and Ukraine also claims only one major disagreement remains – albeit a critical one, over control of territory in the east.But Russian officials have been dampening expectations of a deal."Of course we are following the talks, we want some stability," Iryna tells me people here long for peace more than anyone. "But how can we trust Russia not to stab us in the back?"From the dark and the cold of this war, it does feel to Ukrainians like Moscow is just toying with Trump.The next days and weeks will test that.