Russia batters Ukraine’s power grid again

Russia bombarded Ukraine with more than 300 drones and ballistic and cruise missiles in its latest nighttime attack on the Ukrainian power grid, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday, as Moscow gives no public sign that it’s willing to end the war on its neighbor anytime soon.

The attack knocked out heating to more than 5,600 apartment buildings in the capital, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. Nearly 80% of the affected buildings had recently had their heating supply restored after a major Russian barrage on Jan 9 that plunged thousands of people into a dayslong blackout, he said.

Ukraine is enduring one of its coldest winters for years, with temperatures in Kyiv falling to -20 C (-4 F). At the same time, Russia has escalated its aerial attacks on the electricity supply, aiming to deny Ukrainians heat and running water and wear down their resistance almost four years after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials are trying to keep up the momentum of US-led peace talks. A Ukrainian negotiating team arrived in the United States on Saturday. Their main task was to convey how the relentless Russian strikes are undermining diplomacy, according to Zelenskyy. The Ukrainian leader said last week that the delegation would also try to finalise with US officials documents for a proposed peace settlement that relate to postwar security guarantees and economic recovery.

If American officials approve the proposals, the US and Ukraine could sign the documents at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, this week, he said. Ukraine’s air force command said that 27 missiles and 315 drones were shot down or jammed, while five missiles and 24 drones hit 11 locations. The constant attacks have stretched Ukraine’s air defences and, according to Zelenskyy, some systems recently ran out of ammunition before a new shipment arrived.

He said late Monday that air defences are adopting a new approach, with the appointment of a new deputy air force commander, Pavlo Yelizarov. “This system will be transformed,” he said, without providing details. Ukraine relies on sophisticated air defense systems produced by Western countries, especially the US, to thwart Russia’s missile and drone attacks. People taking shelter in a subway station during Russia's night missile and drone attack in Kyiv, Ukraine.