Eleanor Beardsley

Ukrainian Nobel Peace Prize winner Oleksandr Matvichuk says the flurry of meetings gives the impression there's a path to peace.

But on the ground, President Trump's first year has been deadly for Ukrainians.

the number of killed and wounded has surged 31% higher than in previous year.

She says these talks are missing a human dimension, as if territories are empty spaces, while Putin continues to do what he wants to Ukrainian civilians.

U.S.

Special Envoy Steve Witkoff called the talks constructive and said they would meet again in the coming weeks.

Eleanor Beardsley, NPR News, Kyiv.

Ukraine imported 40 percent more electricity this January than a year ago, say analysts.

Since late December, Russia has carried out multiple waves of missile and drone strikes targeting power generation and transmission facilities across Ukraine.

A strike on a thermal plant in Kyiv Tuesday plunged 1,000 apartment buildings into frigid darkness, says the city's mayor.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, on a visit to Kyiv, spoke amidst its steaming, mangled wreckage.

But, he said, Ukrainians will not be broken, and NATO and Europe will not abandon them.

Eleanor Beardsley, NPR News, Kyiv.

Rutte hailed Ukrainian strength and courage in the face of nearly four years of Russian attack.

He said the necessary security guarantees to back any peace deal are largely in place,

European troops with a U.S.

backstop.

And the NATO leader hailed the direct talks now underway between Ukraine and Russia.

Russian drones and missiles have caused heavy damage to Ukraine's energy infrastructure.

Thousands of buildings in Kyiv are without power, water or heat.