With an electrical power grid slightly shakier than the one in Texas, Russians are facing a cold winter relying on infrastructure that has already repeatedly failed even without targeted attacks like those its military is subjecting Ukraine to, the Washington Post reports.
While power outages are not uncommon in far-flung areas of the country, some of the larger cities are experiencing unexpected power outages as needs push the electrical infrastructure to its limits. Transformers and substations, many decades old and rarely upgraded, regularly fail and because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, replacement parts from European suppliers are subject to sanctions.
Sewage lines exploded in Volgograd, flooding two streets with waste and excrement, also causing a days-long interruption in water and electrical service to 200,000 people in the city. In another, smaller town, after sewage lines burst in the streets, residents carried buckets of waste to a city council meeting that night.