Ukraine welcomes 2023 in the middle of war 2:26
(CNN) --
Kateryna and her husband Oleg endure every day, just like all Kyiv citizens: long blackouts, hours without internet connection and the constant fear of the next missile barrage.
But at the beginning of 2023 they are also preparing for the arrival of the twins.
Kateryna, 34, is eight months pregnant.
CNN has agreed to use only her and Oleg's first names to protect her privacy.
He's not getting much rest before the big day.
Raid sirens go off almost every day, the sound of explosions has become all too familiar.
Their lives are marked by scheduled power outages, as electricity is shared between regions to mitigate the impact of Russia's attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure.
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"On New Year's Eve, I tried to take a nap," he told CNN from his home in suburban Kyiv.
“But I woke up to the sound of the explosions, which continued through the night.
The sirens were on for much of the night, until 4:30 am,” she recounted.
It is difficult for residents to distinguish between the sound of air defenses operating and the impact of cruise missiles and Russian drones.
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“I don't care about blackouts,” Kateryna said, “but we do care about the next wave of Russian missiles.
Will it be us?
It's like a constant risk."
A nearby district, Vyshhorod, was attacked a month ago.
The indiscriminate nature of the shelling means that residential districts are at as much risk as power plants and railway lines.
Dozens of health centers in Ukraine, including children's hospitals and maternity hospitals, have been attacked since the start of the conflict.
Kateryna and Oleg sitting by the Christmas tree at home in the suburbs of Kyiv.
When the sirens aren't going off, Kateryna said, there's a new noise in her neighborhood: the chatter of generators as homes and businesses try to make up for being without power for up to 12 hours a day.
“They are the bells for this Christmas,” he said.
Despite the dangers and the imminent arrival of the twins, Kateryna still commutes to central Kyiv twice a week to use one of the workspaces that have sprung up in the Ukrainian capital.
These spaces have become quite professionalized, with furniture, heating, lighting and reliable internet, provided through Starlink terminals, purchased from Elon Musk's company.
Kateryna works in logistics and helps import large containers to Ukraine.
It's more than a livelihood: it's also a way to contribute to the war effort.
Kateryna and Oleg are luckier than most Ukrainians because they have a small generator at home, although they use it sparingly.
There is always the risk of running out of diesel.
The device uses one liter of fuel per hour and needs to cool down every four hours.
Thus, they have to choose which appliances to use, or the lights or the washing machine, they said.
When the twins are born, they know they will need to use it even more.
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But living in Kyiv during Russia's war against Ukraine means being prepared.
Kateryna and Oleg have cabinets full of batteries, portable chargers, and flashlights.
If the Russian missile campaign against Ukrainian infrastructure continues, as most expect, scheduled power outages may become less predictable, leading to more emergency outages.
Although there is food in the stores, Kateryna explains that sometimes she has to “shop with a flashlight”. They have about two months' worth of food at home, in case the situation worsens.
Like many people in Kyiv, Kateryna and Oleg moved from the capital to a safer area in western Ukraine when the invasion began last February.
But they never wanted to leave the country.
And soon they felt something pulling them back to the city.
Kateryna with a supply of fuel for her small diesel generator.
“I have a job here;
Oleg also has a job here and he cannot work remotely.
We have many friends here, this is our home.
It's a nightmare for me to move to another place,” said Kateryna.
Kateryna feels that both are engaged in the common effort to secure the future of Ukraine.
In the early months of her pregnancy, she helped Ukrainian volunteer organizations raise funds for warm clothing and equipment for the Ukrainian Army, she said.
“The company my husband works for has a fund and they help Ukrainian fighters on the front lines with equipment like drones and vans.
We helped raise money for that team,” he said.
Like many other Ukrainians, they helped a family that had fled from the front lines before the war.
Her mother had given birth amid Russian shelling of her hometown of Kreminna, in the eastern Luhansk region.
When the family settled in a Kyiv suburb, Oleg and Kateryna helped them by giving them shelter and food.
Kateryna says that she is not afraid of becoming a mother in wartime.
She and Oleg want their children to grow up in an environment completely opposite to life under Russian occupation.
“I really want my children to live in a free Ukraine, I want them to be safe.
They have the right to safety and protection just like every other child in the world.
I don't want them to live in fear of being killed by a Russian rocket, they should be happy and carefree,” she said.
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Her only concern, beyond delivering healthy children, is the possibility of lying in the hospital amid another wave of missile attacks.
At that time she will bet on praying, she said.
TwinsWar in Ukraine