Author Andrey Kurkov on Winter in Kyiv and Why Putin Won’t Stop

This winter has been exceptionally brutal in Ukraine. Already the coldest in more than a decade, it’s been made worse by Russian attacks on energy infrastructure that have left millions with no heating and intermittent power. As Russia’s war approaches its fourth anniversary, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is under intense pressure from Donald Trump to hold elections and accept a peace deal within months. But inside Ukraine and among its allies, there remains deep skepticism that Vladimir Putin is truly interested in a durable peace. Celebrated writer Andrey Kurkov has lived the  reality of the wartime winter in his home city of Kyiv. Best known for his 1996 novel “Death and the Penguin,” set in post-Soviet Ukraine, Kurkov also has written extensively about the current war, publishing three volumes of diaries alongside his fiction. While he’s been determined to remain in Ukraine throughout the conflict, he says the present conditions have been too much to bear. In this conversation with Mishal Husain, he talks about his hopes for peace and how he  plans to return to Kyiv in the spring.02:54 Situation in Kyiv: “Winter allied with Russia”04:53 Four years since full-scale invasion07:12 Ukraine is “fragmented”09:12 “Writing nonfiction is a duty”12:03 “Nobody’s winning”14:20 Kurkov’s relationship with Russia17:47 How the war changed Kurkov and his country20:19 Kurkov’s message to the Munich Security Conference21:53 Capitulation “camouflaged” as a peace deal24:15 Support for Zelenskiy in Ukraine26:15 Corruption scandals: “I’m very angry”2:49 “I hope the war will be over this year”31:43 Observing the war as a diarist33:14 Humor as a “psychological defense”35:17 “We are part of Europe” Watch this podcast here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLe4PRejZgr0Ns_wjGlmjlPz0cded0nTYS You can find the written version of this interview with Mishal’s notes on Bloomberg Weekend: https://www.bloomberg.com/latest/weekend-interviewContact The Mishal Husain Show [email protected] Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.Illustration: Uli Knörzer for Bloomberg; Photo: Leonardo Cendamo for GettySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.