More than half of Kyiv without power after Russian bombardment
With temperatures falling as low as minus 20C in Kyiv, Ukraine is seeing one of the coldest winters in years.
Some 4,000 buildings in Kyiv remained without heating on Wednesday, and nearly 60% of the Ukrainian capital was without power, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, after days of Russian bombardment of Ukraine’s power grid.
With temperatures falling as low as minus 20C in Kyiv, Ukraine is seeing one of the coldest winters in years, deepening the hardship of Ukrainians almost four years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion.
A yearlong push by the Trump administration to stop the fighting has not yielded any breakthrough, despite the American president issuing a series of deadlines, though efforts were set to continue.
Donald Trump said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that he would meet Mr Zelensky on Thursday.
“I want to stop it,” Mr Trump said of the fighting. “It’s a horrible war.”
US special envoy Steve Witkoff told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he plans to discuss peace proposals with Russian President Vladimir Putin as well as hold talks with a Ukrainian delegation.
“We need a peace,” Mr Witkoff said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
But with a dispute over Greenland’s future largely eclipsing other transatlantic issues at Davos, discussions about Ukraine’s defence looked likely to be sidelined.
Mr Zelensky said last week his envoys would try to finalise with US officials documents for a proposed peace settlement that relate to post-war security guarantees and economic recovery.
He added that the US and Ukraine could sign the documents in Davos this week, but on Tuesday he said he would not be travelling to Switzerland and would focus on restoring power in Ukraine.
Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers is allocating 2.56 billion hryvnias (almost £45 million) from a reserve fund to purchase generators, Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko said on Wednesday.
Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte on Wednesday urged the 32-nation alliance’s military chiefs to press their national governments to supply desperately needed air defence systems to Ukraine, helping it fend off Russia’s aerial attacks.
“Please use your influence to help your political masters to do even more,” Mr Rutte said in a video message to top brass as they met at Nato’s Brussels headquarters.
“Look deep into your stockpiles to see what more you can give to Ukraine, particularly air defence interceptors. The time really is now,” he said.
Russia launched 97 drones and a ballistic missile at Ukraine overnight, the Ukrainian air force said.
In the central Dnipropetrovsk region, attacks killed a 77-year-old man and a 72-year-old woman, according to Oleksandr Hanzha, head of the regional military administration.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said that air defences downed 75 Ukrainian drones over several regions.
The international airports of Krasnodar, Sochi, Gelendzhik and Saratov briefly suspended flights overnight because of the drones.
In Adygea, more than 200km (120 miles) from the Ukrainian border, a Ukrainian drone caused a fire at an apartment building that injured 11 people, including two children, according to Governor Murat Kumpilov.
