Joanna Kakissis

They can charge their phones.

She sipped hot tea as her two daughters, who are five and two, were eating steaming bowls of instant ramen.

She says she goes to cafes to fill up thermoses with hot water, which she then pours into hot water bottles at home to help warm the beds at night.

Well, Scott, you know, Ukrainian energy workers are remarkably efficient at getting power plants and substations operating quickly again, even after repeated attacks.

But it's a Sisyphean task.

They rebuild them and then there are more strikes.

Also, Kiev is filled with these enormous apartment buildings.

They're like 25, 30 stories high.

They're heated through a system that pumps hot water through pipes.

And because Russian attacks have damaged the system during sub-zero temperatures, the water is frozen in some of these pipes and burst them.

So these will have to be fixed, too.

I spoke with Ukrainian energy expert Oleksandr Harchenko, who said only about a quarter of the electricity needed is available to Kyiv right now.

And he said he believes the Russian attacks aim to make Kyiv and other cities unlivable.

And he says the Kremlin wants to wear down Ukrainians so they will give up and make more concessions to Russia.

Trying to live a normal life when you're freezing is exhausting.

Inessa Rozhdovanska, the mother we met in the mobile shelter, she said that before the war, you know, when the heat wasn't disrupted like this, she used to love seeing Kyiv blanketed in snow and icicles.

But now she says she will probably move to western Ukraine if this blackout situation here in Kyiv lasts much longer.

Other Ukrainians we spoke to say they will stay in Kyiv no matter what.

One is personal trainer and former professional volleyball player Polina Lutakova.

And, Scott, this is a sentiment I've heard over and over again.