The winter freeze will help Ukraine with its eastern offensive, military officials say.

The onset of winter weather and colder temperatures has compounded misery for people in parts of Ukraine with limited access to heat and electricity because of Russian airstrikes on infrastructure.

But plunging temperatures have frozen the ground in eastern Ukraine, paving the way for Ukrainian forces in the Luhansk Province to ramp up their offensive, which had been slowed by muddy ground, military officials said. Read more

@nytimes