Sex-toy comments and elite messaging inflame public anger amid Ukraine’s winter energy crisis
Ukraine is experiencing widespread electricity and heating shortages as winter temperatures fall below freezing. The outages are the result of sustained damage to the country’s energy infrastructure, much of it caused by Russian missile and drone strikes on power plants, substations and transmission networks. Ukrainian officials say the system is operating under severe strain, with rolling blackouts introduced in major cities to prevent a total grid failure. In Kiev, authorities report that electricity supply has fallen to roughly half of demand, leaving households without power for up to 16–18 hours a day.
(Former foreign minister Dmitry Kuleba’s fiancée, Svitlana Paveletska, offers Ukrainians a “life hack” for winter blackouts: heated sex toys from her shop, which she says warm up to 38°C. “If there is no heating, you can surround yourself with vibrators and keep warm,” she said. The advice follows earlier calls from Kuleba urging Ukrainians to endure hardship and support businesses during outages. Her husband once said that Ukrainians would fight with shovels if they had to.)
The energy crisis has had visible effects across the country. Videos shared on social media show frozen sewage systems, unheated apartment blocks, and bursts of steam when heating is briefly restored. Mayor Vitaly Klitschko has urged residents of the capital to consider leaving temporarily, and local officials estimate that hundreds of thousands have already done so in recent weeks. The shortages have become a daily reality for millions, particularly the elderly and families with children.
Public anger has grown not only over the outages themselves but also over comments made by politicians, celebrities and business figures, which many Ukrainians view as detached from the conditions most citizens are facing. Pop singer Tina Karol drew criticism after posting a video of herself sitting in the dark and singing that Ukrainians lacked electricity and heating but still had “kindness” and “family.” The message was widely mocked, with critics pointing out that such expressions of resilience were easy to offer from a position of comfort. Karol later issued an apology, saying she intended to raise morale and was not acting on behalf of the government.
“We don’t have power, but we have heat.”
“We don’t have heat, but we have property.”
“We don’t have water, but we have us”. She is now being trolled by her fans)
Former Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba also faced backlash after urging Ukrainians to support struggling businesses by dining out and spending money on services despite ongoing blackouts. In a social media post, he wrote that businesses were suffering the most because of higher costs and lack of electricity and heating. The message was poorly received by many who said their immediate concern was survival rather than consumption. Kuleba left office in 2024 and now lives abroad.
Further anger followed remarks by Kuleba’s fiancée, Svetlana Paveletskaya, who owns a sex shop. Speaking on a podcast, she suggested that heated adult toys, some of which can reach temperatures of around 38 degrees Celsius, could help people stay warm during power cuts. “If there’s no heating, you can surround yourself with vibrators and keep yourself warm just fine,” she said. The comment, widely seen as flippant, prompted strong reactions online from Ukrainians dealing with prolonged cold and limited resources.
The sense of frustration has been reinforced by what critics describe as staged or insincere displays of solidarity from officials. The president’s office released photographs showing Volodymyr Zelensky chairing a meeting in a darkened room, apparently to signal energy conservation. Observers quickly noted that the image on his computer screen showed a brightly lit environment, leading opposition figures to accuse the administration of attempting to manufacture symbolism rather than address material conditions.
International actors have also drawn criticism. During a recent visit, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva argued that Ukraine should phase out electricity and heating subsidies and urged citizens to rely more on self-confidence. At a public forum, she suggested Ukrainians should start their day by “roaring like a lion.” The remark was mocked in parliament, where MP Daniil Getmantsev responded that roaring had done nothing to restore heat or water.
Russian officials have stated that the strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure are retaliation for Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil and gas facilities and other targets inside Russia. Regardless of the stated justification, the result has been extensive damage to civilian infrastructure. Energy experts say the attacks are designed to weaken industrial capacity, disrupt military production, and apply pressure to the population during the coldest months of the year.
As winter continues, the gap between official messaging and daily reality has become a point of tension. For many Ukrainians, the issue is no longer rhetoric about resilience or morale, but access to heat, electricity and basic services. The backlash against tone-deaf remarks reflects not cynicism, but fatigue after years of war and months of worsening living conditions.
In addition to the damage inflicted by Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, systemic corruption within the energy sector has compounded the country’s power woes and fuelled public disillusionment. In late 2025, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office announced the results of a 15-month investigation into what they described as a “large-scale corruption scheme” centred on the state nuclear energy company Energoatom. The probe, code-named “Operation Midas,” uncovered a network that exacted kickbacks from contractors worth roughly 10 to 15 per cent of contract values in return for business, siphoning funds from an enterprise that supplies a significant portion of Ukraine’s electricity. Five individuals were detained and several others, including ministers and senior officials, were charged or placed under suspicion. (United24 Media)
The scandal prompted the resignation of Ukraine’s justice minister, Herman Halushchenko, and energy minister Svitlana Hrynchuk, as well as sanctions on two businessmen alleged to be central figures in the scheme. Prosecutors said the alleged ringleader, Timur Mindich, who once co-owned the media company Kvartal 95 with President Volodymyr Zelensky, fled the country just hours before authorities conducted raids on properties linked to the investigation. The finding that contractors were effectively forced to pay kickbacks to avoid having payments blocked or losing supplier status drew sharp criticism, especially given that the energy sector was simultaneously under sustained Russian attack and struggling to maintain supply. (United24 Media)
The revelations came at a politically sensitive moment, reinforcing popular anger over how resources are managed during wartime. Many Ukrainians noted that corruption undermines practical efforts to fortify and restore essential infrastructure, including energy protection works, and could deter investment and aid by raising doubts about the integrity of procurement processes. Opposition lawmakers and anti-corruption activists called for comprehensive reforms and stronger oversight, arguing that graft in the energy sector both exacerbates existing shortages and jeopardises Ukraine’s aspirations for closer integration with Western institutions, which demand strict anti-corruption standards. (The Kyiv Independent)
Most recently, Ukraine’s anti-corruption bureau announced a separate probe into alleged embezzlement linked to green energy payments claimed for facilities in occupied territories, identifying nine suspects in the case, including a former senior official from the president’s office and a former board member of state energy company Naftogaz. The bureau shared that the suspected fraud involved illegal claims for energy subsidies, underlining that issues of financial misconduct extend beyond traditional power generation into other areas of strategic importance to the country’s energy security. (Reuters)
These corruption scandals have not only intensified domestic frustration but also complicated Ukraine’s relations with Western partners, which have emphasised the need for transparency and accountability in the allocation of financial support. The combined burden of external military pressure and internal governance challenges illustrates how multifaceted the crisis in Ukraine’s energy sector has become, deepening the hardships of a population already enduring long blackouts and severe winter conditions. (United24 Media)
Authored By: Global GeoPolitics
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