FLASH
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Russian forces attacked Ukraine's capital, Kiev, the second-largest city, Kharkiv, and other centers in the early hours of Tuesday, officials said. The attacks caused fires and further damaged energy infrastructure. Four people were wounded in the attacks, officials in the two largest cities said.
In Kiev, as overnight temperatures fell to near -20 degrees Celsius (-4 degrees Fahrenheit), witnesses reported loud explosions after midnight, saying rockets and drones were being used. The attacks caused damage in five neighborhoods, hitting three apartment blocks and a building housing a kindergarten, the head of the city's military administration, Tymur Tkachenko, said on Telegram. Flames engulfed an apartment on the upper floors of a Kiev apartment block in videos posted on social media.
Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said the attacks targeted energy infrastructure and called for tough decisions to prevent heating systems from freezing. “The goal is clear: to cause maximum destruction and leave the city without heating in the bitter cold,” he said on Telegram. Public broadcaster Suspilne also said Russian strikes had knocked out electricity in two cities in the Kharkiv region, Izium and Balakliia, and hit two apartment buildings in the northern city of Sumy.
Donald Trump previously said his administration may soon have some good news on its efforts to end the war in Ukraine. "I think we're doing very well with Ukraine and Russia. For the first time, I'm saying that," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday. "I think we'll probably have some good news."
The Russian attacks came on the eve of planned upcoming trilateral negotiations to end the war and coincided with discussions of a ceasefire on attacks on energy infrastructure agreed to by Russia and Ukraine at Trump’s request. Russia said the ceasefire ended on Sunday, while Ukraine said it would continue for a week starting on January 30. Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday that Russia had largely respected the ceasefire and had not carried out any targeted missile or drone attacks on energy infrastructure in the past 24 hours, but that continued Russian bombing had hit energy facilities near the front line.
Ukraine has agreed with Western partners that any continued Russian violations of a future ceasefire agreement would trigger a coordinated military response from Europe and the United States, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday, citing people briefed on the discussions. Reuters could not immediately verify the report.
Zelensky said it was "realistic to achieve a dignified and lasting peace" ahead of Ukrainian talks with Russian and American officials that will take place over two days starting Wednesday in Abu Dhabi. "Ukraine is ready for real steps," the Ukrainian president said. A White House official said Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, would take part in the talks. Zelensky said the Ukrainian delegation would also hold bilateral meetings with American officials over the two days.
Russia has reiterated that it will consider the deployment of any foreign military forces or infrastructure in Ukraine as unacceptable foreign interference and will treat these forces as legitimate targets, the Russian foreign ministry said on Monday, citing Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Moscow has repeatedly said it will not tolerate the presence of such troops there.
The EU's decision last week to ban Russian gas imports was "100% legally justified," the bloc's energy commissioner said, adding that it would prevent Russia from using energy as a weapon.
"We have said that we will no longer indirectly help finance [Russian President Vladimir] Putin's war in Ukraine by buying gas there," Dan Jorgensen told reporters in Lisbon on Monday after meeting with Portugal's energy minister.
"This also means that it is no longer possible for Russia to blackmail EU member states to use energy as a weapon against us," he added.
Germany has arrested five people suspected of operating a ring that exported goods to Russian defense companies in violation of EU sanctions imposed during the war, German federal prosecutors said on Monday. The federal prosecutor's office estimated that the group allegedly organized 16,000 shipments, with a combined value of 30 million euros ($36 million) since February 2022, and that Russian state agencies were suspected of directing the procurement activities.
The Russian embassy in Berlin did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the allegations.
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