Die Ukrainer trotzen den Versuchen Russlands, sie zur Unterwerfung zu zwingen

*From Bloomberg News reporters Volodymyr Verbianyi and Daryna Krasnolutska:*

Since the power went out in the depths of the Ukrainian winter, Mariia Kozhenko puts her two children to sleep at night inside a tent set up on the bed of their Kyiv apartment to try to keep warm.

She’s one of millions of Ukrainians struggling to survive Russia’s missile and drone onslaught in a grim contest for advantage as US-brokered peace talks are set to resume on Wednesday. “We have nowhere to go,” said Kozhenko, who’s 41.

Russia on Tuesday shattered a brief pause in its attacks on energy infrastructure in Kyiv and other major Ukrainian cities, firing the largest number of drones and missiles this year as temperatures fell below -20C (-4F). US President Donald Trump said on Thursday he’d asked Vladimir Putin for a weeklong halt to strikes amid the extreme cold, a deal the Kremlin said expired on Feb. 1.

US, Russian and Ukrainian officials are scheduled to gather in the United Arab Emirates for two days of talks, including on military parameters for any potential ceasefire, after holding similar meetings in Abu Dhabi last month. Still, the key issue of Russia’s demands for territory in Ukraine remains unresolved.

Ukrainians have endured all manner of hardships after Putin triggered Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II almost four years ago. While Russia has sought to bring them to their knees each winter, the intensity of this year’s air assaults on energy infrastructure combined with the extreme cold has made it a particularly grueling season for civilian populations in Kyiv and other cities.