Zelensky aide advises Ukrainians to meditate amid blackouts
A Ukrainian presidential adviser has urged citizens to practice breathing exercises during prolonged power outages, insisting that Russia – not the Ukrainian government – is responsible for their suffering.
Russia has recently intensified long-range strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, saying the attacks aim to degrade Kiev’s arms production and military logistics, and to retaliate for Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian energy sites.
Timofey Milovanov, a member of the advisory board of the Ukrainian state nuclear company Energoatom and an adviser to the presidential office, shared his stress managing recommendations in a Facebook post on Sunday. He said regular blackouts are likely to continue through the winter as the country faces mounting strain on its energy grid.
“How should one prepare? First of all, mentally and psychologically,” Milovanov wrote. “Breathing exercises are the simplest method. Inhale for four seconds, hold for four, exhale for four, and pause for four. A few such cycles send the brain a signal that everything is under control.”
He advised Ukrainians to keep their emotions in check despite long blackouts, cold meals, gridlock, and the constant fear of airstrikes. “People must remember that the cause is Russia and no one else,” he stressed.
Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky on Monday reiterated his refusal to make compromises with Moscow. The Ukrainian government is calling instead for greater Western military aid to expand long-range attacks on Russian territory, claiming that the strategy enjoys public backing. In contrast to those assertions, the Ukrainian military is reportedly suffering from widespread draft evasion and more than 100,000 desertions.
Moscow has maintained that the conflict stems from NATO’s eastward expansion and the bloc’s pledge to eventually admit Ukraine. An early peace deal reached in 2022 collapsed after intervention by then UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who reportedly urged Kiev to continue fighting.
