Ukraine’s army readies for high-stakes fight against Russia as winter nears

Al Jazeera’s defence editor analyses the powers and vulnerabilities of Kyiv’s military as its support system slows down.

The coming winter will be a real test for an exhausted Ukrainian population in its third year of war.

Russia has steadily been degrading the country’s energy infrastructure, as power stations, electricity grid sub-stations and storage facilities have been targeted.

In a country where temperatures in winter fall regularly below freezing, the demands on Ukraine’s power grid will be substantial.

Front-line cities, like Kharkiv, will bear the biggest brunt, two of the power plants that serve the city having been destroyed in March.

Russia has identified a weak point in Ukraine’s infrastructure. Its energy grid is just too large to defend properly, especially when air defences are in relatively short supply.