In 2022, when Russia began its invasion of my home country of Ukraine, my husband and I sat in our living room, with no power, heat or internet. While we were being shelled by the Russian Army, we went into survival mode. He took two bricks into the kitchen and put them in the oven, hoping they would retain enough heat for us to get through the night. Thankfully, it worked.

The situation was absurd, yet it was a reality that many Ukrainians have faced every winter since the war began. And the sad truth is, many will continue to face it as we head into the coming winter season.

For much of this war, ordinary Ukrainians have survived unthinkable circumstances. Russian forces have killed, tortured and raped thousands of Ukrainian civilians. Putin has kidnapped more than 20,000 Ukrainian children and forcibly sent them into Russia. Putin’s troops have persecuted religious leaders and destroyed churches, burning Bibles all in the name of their “holy war.”

Despite these horrific war crimes, the spirit of the Ukrainian people is unbroken — and that is why Putin is doing everything he can to break our spirits this winter by destroying our energy infrastructure.

Here in Ukraine, winter is cold. Our streets are often full of unplowed snow and the temperature,........

© The Hill