KYIV: 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 Feb 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.