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‘General Frost’ is a New Actor in the Ukrainian Conflict
Russia may launch a new massive strike on Ukraine when the frosts come and the temperature drops to -10 degrees. This is the opinion of the representative of Volodymir Zelensky’s administration. The enemy wants to “hard freeze Ukrainians”, so it is waiting for critical frosts, “the main blow in this case falls not even on energy infrastructure as such, but on heating systems,” said Mykhailo Podolyak, advisor to the President’s Office.
Many experts have already repeatedly warned that winter in the current war in Ukraine will be a critical factor and possibly a critical stage in the conflict. This has the potential to be a serious challenge for Russians and Ukrainians alike.
Historically, the region’s icy winters have played to Moscow’s advantage in the past, helping to arrest advances by Napoleon and Adolf Hitler’s hordes, earning the nickname “General Frost” or “General Winter.” The snow-covered steppes of Ukraine have many times become battlegrounds. Kharkiv alone changed hands several times between 1941 and 1943, when Manstein’s Nazi tanks thwarted the plans of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. But today in Ukraine, Moscow faces an adversary acclimatized to the winter conditions, while analysts expect the cold to help and hinder the two opposing sides in different ways.