Ukraine-Russia war live: Kyiv officials arrive in US for crucial peace talks with Trump envoys

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that Moscow is increasingly focusing its attacks on Ukraine’s nuclear-related energy systems, accusing the Kremlin of trying to break the country through prolonged power disruptions.

He said there was no indication that Russia was prepared to honour any agreements or move towards ending the war.

“We do not see any willingness on the part of the aggressor to comply with any agreements or end the war. Instead, there is ample information about preparations for further Russian strikes on our energy sector and infrastructure, including facilities and networks that serve our nuclear power plants. Each such Russian strike on the energy sector amid such a harsh winter weakens and undermines the efforts of key states – in particular the United States – to end this war.”

An intelligence assessment provided to the British military revealed a 1:27 kill ratio in the battle for Kupiansk, with 27 Russian soldiers lost for each Ukrainian.

This assessment was shared during a briefing with Ukrainian officials last week, highlighting Kyiv’s ability to reclaim territory despite Russia’s ‘meat grinder’ tactics.

During the battle for the northern city of Kupiansk in Kharkiv, up to 200 Russian soldiers were reportedly surrounded by advancing Ukrainian forces before Christmas.

Ukraine successfully regained control of Kupiansk last month.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that allied supplies of air defence systems and missiles were insufficient, warning that Russia was preparing new large-scale strikes.

In his evening address, Zelensky said it was crucial that Ukraine’s partners heed Kyiv’s requests for additional support.

Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that he held a special energy coordination meeting, noting that the situation remains most difficult in several areas.

He said Kyiv, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia and the surrounding regions are the worst hit.

Ukraine needs to ramp up electricity imports and acquire additional equipment from its partners, he added.

Zelensky said he has instructed that a separate review be conducted in Kyiv to identify buildings that are still without heating.

“Unfortunately, there are discrepancies between city-level and government-level reports even concerning the number of such buildings. The Ministry of Energy and all central government bodies must fully engage to help people,” he said.

Russian forces took control of the settlements of Pryvillia in Ukraine’s Donetsk region and Pryluky in the Zaporizhzhia region, Russia’s defence ministry said on Saturday.

Ukrainian forces have yet to comment on it.

Foreign embassies in Kyiv have confirmed they are not evacuating staff despite worsening power outages, damage to energy infrastructure, and forecasts of extreme cold.

It comes as Ukraine’s energy situation deteriorates under repeated Russian strikes, with a state of emergency declared on 14 January and forecasts warning that late January temperatures could fall below –20°C.

Kyiv is home to the largest number of foreign diplomatic missions in Ukraine, with around 80 embassies based in the capital, according to The Kyiv Independent.

In early 2022, almost all foreign missions evacuated Kyiv due to security concerns as Russia, possessing the world’s second-largest military, launched a full-scale invasion and attempted to seize the capital within days.

Most embassies later returned and resumed operations in the city.

At least eight embassies have told the outlet they would remain and continue operations, while the remainder either did not respond or declined to comment publicly.

A crashed Russian drone has been discovered in Moldova, officials said.

The Russian Gerbera-type drone has been found by a hunter in a village of Nucareni in the Telenesti District of the country, around 54km from the Moldova-Ukraine border, authorities said.

Moldova’s National Policealso released a picture of the drone.

It was not immediately clear when the drone had crashed. In recent weeks, Russia has repeatedly launched drone attacks on multiple regions of Ukraine, including areas along the country’s south-western border.

Responding to the airspace breach, Moldova’s foreign ministry said the incident posed a threat to national security and constituted a violation of the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

“The Republic of Moldova condemns such violations and condemns the Russian Federation’s war of aggression against Ukraine, which also endangers the safety of our citizens,” the statement added.

Emergency repair crews are working flat out to restore power in the Kyiv region of Ukraine, after relentless Russian barrages on energy infrastructure left Ukrainians at the mercy of the coldest winter in years.

Russia launched fresh overnight strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, hitting facilities in the Kyiv and Odesa regions and leaving tens of thousands without electricity, Ukrainian officials said on Saturday.

The Ministry of Energy said that more than 20 settlements in the Kyiv region were cut off from power after the attacks. In the south, infrastructure in the Odesa region was also targeted, adding to pressure on an already strained grid.In Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, mayor Ihor Terekhov said that a Russian strike hit a critical infrastructure facility in the industrial district, raising the risk of serious disruptions to electricity and heating supplies.

Three people were wounded.

“We are talking about serious strikes on the system that keeps the city warm and lit,” Mr Terekhov wrote on Telegram, warning that the network was already operating at its limits. Each new attack, he said, makes it harder to maintain stable supplies and prolongs recovery efforts.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that he had convened a special coordination meeting on energy security, describing the situation as most difficult in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia, as well as surrounding regions.

He said Ukraine needed to increase electricity imports and accelerate the acquisition of additional equipment from international partners.

Throughout the war, Russia has repeatedly targeted Ukraine’s power grid, particularly during the winter months, in what Ukrainian officials describe as an attempt to “weaponise winter” and weaken civilian morale.

Ukraine’s new energy minister, Denys Shmyhal, said on Friday that Russia carried out 612 attacks on energy facilities last year, with the intensity increasing in recent months as nighttime temperatures dropped to -18C.

To cope with the strain, Ukraine has introduced emergency measures, including temporarily easing curfew restrictions to allow residents to reach public heating centres when needed. Shmyhal said hospitals, schools and other critical facilities remained the top priority for electricity and heat.

He added that state energy companies, including Ukrzaliznytsia, Naftogaz and Ukroboronprom, had been instructed to urgently purchase imported electricity to cover at least half of their own consumption.

Independent Russian outlet Mediazona, working with the BBC’s Russian service, has confirmed the identities of 163,606 Russian military personnel killed in Ukraine, offering one of the most detailed public accounts of Moscow’s battlefield losses.

Since the previous update in mid-December, the journalists have added 7,445 names to the database.

They caution that the true death toll is likely far higher, as their verification relies solely on publicly available information, including obituaries, posts from relatives, regional media coverage and statements by local officials.

The confirmed figures include nearly 54,000 volunteers, close to 20,000 recruited prisoners and around 16,500 mobilised soldiers.

More than 6,300 officers are also among those confirmed dead.

In August 2025, Mediazona and the independent outlet Meduza estimated that roughly 220,000 Russians had been killed in the war, a figure that has risen significantly since then.

Neither Moscow nor Kyiv regularly publishes official casualty figures. Ukraine estimates that Russia’s overall casualties since the start of the full-scale invasion have exceeded 1.2 million.

Despite the scale of losses, Russian forces have managed limited advances along the front line by replenishing ranks with new contract soldiers.

Ukraine, by contrast, is grappling with mounting manpower shortages, particularly among infantry units. In a rare disclosure on 14 January, Ukraine’s new defence minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, said around two million Ukrainians were wanted for evading mobilisation, while a further 200,000 soldiers were absent without official leave.

As of 17 January, Ukraine’s general staff estimated that Russia has lost 1,225,590 troops since the invasion began on 24 February 2022, a figure that includes those killed, injured or missing and broadly aligns with assessments by Western intelligence agencies.