KYIV, Ukraine - Russia is hitting Ukraine's capital harder than ever, killing and wounding dozens of civilians nearly every day. With winter closing in, the question is whether the people of Kyiv will stay.

In Kyiv, the attacks are now almost constant. In one week, Ukrainian officials counted more than 2,200 Russian attack drones launched at the country. But when the sirens stop, the capital goes back to work. The malls are open, the lights are on, and the metro is running. 

Nate Vance, a cousin of Vice President J.D. Vance, fought for Ukraine for three years and has spent much of the war in this city.

"You can sense kind of a tension. Even if you don't speak to people, you can just sense it when you look at them. But I think what comes with that is that people, after a while, tend to get complacent because you just have to keep going about your life, right? You can't constantly put your life on hold," he said.

If you want to get a sense of just how resilient the Ukrainian people are, think about the fact that here in Kyiv, they've had more than 6,000 missile and rocket attacks just this year. Hundreds of people have been injured and killed. Yet if you look around, there are people walking their dogs, couples sitting on benches, and people still living their lives. It's a reality that may be hard for many Americans to grasp.

But there's one thing residents here fear more than drones.

"Winter," Vance said. "We're approaching year five, right? And it gets tiresome. Everybody's tired. I don't think anyone is worried, at least in the immediate future, about the Russians storming Kyiv and taking the city. But the immediate concern for the average person is that sinking thought that winter is coming, and everyone knows it's going to be unpleasant."

Last winter was the hardest of the war. Russian strikes cut heat to thousands of apartment buildings in Kyiv while temperatures dropped to 20 below zero. Ukraine has lost roughly 70 percent of its prewar power-generation capacity, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the United Nations that Moscow is only getting started.

"Since the beginning of this year, Russia has already used more than 2,100 missiles of different types against us, against Ukraine, our people, and our children," Zelenskyy told the UN. "In eight months of this year, Russia used 63,000 attack drones of different types against Ukraine, our people... Would your country survive if, God forbid, you had to face something like this? Ukraine has."

Across the street from City Hall, an air raid alert sent some people underground. We met a group of Christians who decided to hold a worship service instead. Pastors from several denominations conduct street outreach on a regular basis, drones or no drones.

Ukrainian Pastor Andrew Dudko said, "Now here in Kyiv, many people have a lot of fear inside, and we bring these people hope through Jesus Christ. Because only belief, only faith in Jesus Christ, brings them real hope and real love... We feel freedom from fear, and we carry this boldness to our people here in Kyiv and throughout Ukraine."

Pastor Oksana Novachuk said, "Here we are in the middle of a war, but we are absolutely capable of what Jesus has called us to do in this time... During the war, my husband, our family, and I have experienced God's supernatural provision and protection. Our church has grown threefold."

Not everyone is staying. One of Vance's former comrades moved his wife and two small children out of their Kyiv apartment so the kids would stop waking up to explosions.

Vance said, "I'm not saying there's a mass exodus, but there are people who are genuinely considering whether this is tenable. But then if you look around, you see people who are obviously deciding that it is, because they're still here. They will not fold because of a lack of will. That's for sure. But ultimately, regardless of will, there is a mathematical reality in the availability of resources."

Ukraine secured a new batch of Patriot missiles this month, along with permission from Washington to build its own. Whether that's enough to keep the heat on through February is the question everyone here is asking.