Energy strike during extreme cold: Zelenskyy signals changes in talks with Russia
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (photo: Getty Images)
After today's massive Russian attack, the work of the Ukrainian negotiating team will be adjusted accordingly. Moscow does not take diplomacy seriously, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
As the president noted, Russia used the United States proposal to place strikes on a short-term pause not to support diplomacy, but to stockpile missiles and wait for the coldest days of the year, when temperatures across much of Ukraine reach minus 20 degrees.
According to the Ukrainian president, there was a record-breaking ballistic missile strike.
"Only in this single strike there were 32 ballistic missiles, another 11 missiles of other types that approach targets along a ballistic trajectory, 28 cruise missiles, and 450 attack drones, most of them Shaheds. A significant part was shot down, but not all," Zelenskyy said.
According to his data, "there were hits on energy facilities in several regions, with the greatest damage in Kharkiv region, Dnipropetrovsk region, Kyiv and Kyiv region, Vinnytsia region, Odesa region, and Zaporizhzhia."
Zelenskyy said that all necessary forces have been engaged to eliminate the consequences of the strike.
He instructed the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the government to provide equipment from reserves, as well as to urgently contact international partners regarding additional support packages.
"Each such Russian strike confirms that the attitude in Moscow has not changed: they still count on war and the destruction of Ukraine and do not take diplomacy seriously. The work of our negotiating team will be adjusted accordingly," the president concluded.
Talks in Abu Dhabi
Trilateral talks between Ukraine, the United States, and Russia took place in the United Arab Emirates on January 23 and 24. The United States assessed the meeting positively, while Kyiv called it substantive.
During the talks between the delegations, greater progress was achieved in discussions of military issues, while no decisions have yet been made regarding territories.
The next round of talks is scheduled for February 4–5 in Abu Dhabi.
According to media reports, the talks will be attended by the special envoy of the President of the United States, Steve Witkoff.
