KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — About 4,000 buildings in Kyiv remained without heating Wednesday, and nearly 60% of the Ukrainian capital was without power, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, after days of Russian bombardment of Ukraine’s power grid.
With temperatures falling as low as minus 20 C (minus 4 F) in Kyiv, Ukraine is seeing one of the coldest winters in years, deepening the hardship of Ukrainians almost four years after Russia launched a full-scale
invasion.
A yearlong push by the Trump administration to stop the fighting hasn’t yielded any breakthrough, despite the American president issuing a series of deadlines, though efforts were set to continue.
U.S. 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,” 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 defense looked likely to be sidelined.
Zelenskyy said last week his envoys would try to finalize with U.S. officials documents for a proposed peace settlement that relate to postwar security guarantees and economic recovery.
He added that the U.S. and Ukraine could sign the documents in Davos this week, but on Tuesday he said he wouldn’t be traveling to Switzerland and would focus on restoring power in Ukraine.
Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers is allocating 2.56 billion hryvnias (almost $60 million) from a reserve fund to purchase generators, Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko said 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 defense systems to Ukraine, helping it fend off Russia’s aerial attacks.
“Please use your influence to help your political masters to do even more,” 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 defense 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 Defense Ministry said that air defenses 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 200 kilometers (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 Gov. Murat Kumpilov.
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Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed to this story.
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Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
