On the 1,425th day of a war that has reshaped the continent, Ukraine's president warns that Russia is readying new blows against the power networks that feed the country's nuclear plants, even as his former intelligence chief sits across a table in Miami seeking a shape for peace. The lights in Kharkiv, Sumy, Kyiv and Odesa are flickering through a brutal winter, and the dead are counted in ones and twos. It is the old pattern of a conflict in which talk of settlement and the logic of strikes unfold side by side, each one testing whether the other can be believed.
Zelenskyy Warns Russia Is Preparing Strikes on Ukraine's Nuclear Power Network as Budanov Heads to US Talks
At least three people were killed and several injured in Russian attacks on Kharkiv oblast, with further injuries reported in Sumy, as energy strikes left settlements without power.
Not a single power plant left in Ukraine has not been hit
Mark
Why does the nuclear warning stand out from the usual reports of energy strikes?
Mimi
Zelenskyy said the targets would include facilities and networks that serve nuclear plants, not only generation. That moves the concern toward the systems nuclear stations depend on.
Luke
But note what we actually have. It's his statement, based on a briefing from intelligence chief Ivashchenko. No evidence has been published, and the reporting doesn't say which sites.
Mark
And he ties it to the peace effort?
Mimi
Yes. He said each strike in this winter undermines the work of states like the US to end the war, while Budanov is in the US for talks.
Mark
Who is Budanov meeting?
Mimi
Witkoff, Kushner and Dan Driscoll, with negotiators Umerov and Arakhamia alongside him. The focus is security guarantees and economic recovery.
Luke
The Davos signing is conditional. Zelenskyy says it could happen if American officials approve, so it's a possibility, not a scheduled event.
Mark
What about Russia's position?
Mimi
Reporting says Russia has shown no sign of accepting a deal without all of Donbas being handed over first.
Luke
Worth noting the casualty figures come from regional authorities and prosecutors, and the Guardian relays them as such. The power outage and equipment details are from Ukrainian officials too.
Mark
And the Lithuania aid?
Mimi
Over 2,000 solar panels, equipment, and €5.7m to the energy support fund, on top of earlier repair equipment for coal and nuclear plants.
O Pulso
- Zelenskyy warns of planned Russian strikes on the power networks serving nuclear plants, raising fears of a crisis beyond the front line.
- Russian drones and missiles have killed and wounded civilians in Kharkiv, Sumy, Kyiv and Odesa, leaving whole settlements in the dark during freezing weather.
- Budanov leads a delegation in Miami with Witkoff and Kushner, racing to finalise security and economic proposals before Davos next week.
- Lithuania is sending generating equipment and funds while Ukraine scrambles to import electricity for its state companies.
- Moscow has signalled no acceptance of any deal that does not first hand over the whole Donbas, leaving the talks poised on a knife's edge.
On the 1,425th day of a war that has reshaped the continent, Ukraine's president warns that Russia is readying new blows against the power networks that feed the country's nuclear plants, even as his former intelligence chief sits across a table in Miami seeking a shape for peace. The lights in Kharkiv, Sumy, Kyiv and Odesa are flickering through a brutal winter, and the dead are counted in ones and twos. It is the old pattern of a conflict in which talk of settlement and the logic of strikes unfold side by side, each one testing whether the other can be believed.
On Sunday, the 1,425th day of the war, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine had information that Russia is preparing to strike the power networks serving the country's nuclear plants. He spoke after a briefing from Oleh Ivashchenko, the chief of defence intelligence, who recently succeeded Kyrylo Budanov when Budanov became head of the president's office. Zelenskyy said he saw no willingness in the aggressor to honour any agreement, and argued that each strike in a harsh winter weakens the efforts of key partners, the United States above all, to bring the fighting to an end.
Budanov was already in the United States, leading a delegation with negotiators Rustem Umerov and Davyd Arakhamia to talk with US envoy Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner and army secretary Dan Driscoll in Miami. Zelenskyy has asked them to finalise proposals on security guarantees and economic recovery. If Washington approves, the two countries could sign a deal next week at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Russia, however, has given no sign it will accept any settlement unless Ukraine first surrenders the whole of Donbas.
The attacks did not pause for diplomacy. In Kharkiv oblast, strikes killed several people, including a 20-year-old woman in the city and a 52-year-old woman at a bus stop in Borivske. A hit on a critical facility in Kharkiv's industrial district wounded another person, and the mayor warned that the energy system is operating at its limits. In Sumy, an airstrike wounded three women and a seven-year-old child. Overnight, energy sites in the Kyiv and Odesa regions were also struck, and more than twenty settlements around Kyiv lost power.
Energy minister Denys Shmyhal ordered state companies to buy imported electricity covering at least half their consumption, and Lithuania pledged more generating equipment and €5.7m to the energy support fund. "There is not a single power plant left in Ukraine that has not been hit," he said, while repair crews work around the clock. The next marker is whether the Miami talks produce a document ready for signing in Davos.
On Sunday, day 1,425 of the war, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine has information that Russia is preparing to strike the power networks that serve the country's nuclear plants. He spoke after a briefing from Oleh Ivashchenko, the chief of defence intelligence, who recently took over from Kyrylo Budanov when Budanov was made head of the president's office.
"We do not see any willingness on the part of the aggressor to comply with any agreements or end the war," Zelenskyy said. He described "ample information" about further planned strikes on the energy sector, including facilities and networks serving nuclear plants. Each such strike in a harsh winter, he argued, weakens the efforts of key states, the United States in particular, to bring the war to an end.
The warning came as Budanov was already in the United States. He confirmed his arrival on Saturday to lead a delegation in talks on peace proposals. Ukrainian negotiators Rustem Umerov and Davyd Arakhamia are with him, and the group is to meet US envoy Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner and army secretary Dan Driscoll. Zelenskyy has asked the delegation, meeting in Miami, to finalise proposals on security guarantees and economic recovery. If American officials approve them, he said, the US and Ukraine could sign a deal next week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
The obstacle remains Russia, which has given no sign it will accept any peace deal unless Ukraine first hands over the whole of the Donbas region.
Meanwhile the attacks continued. Regional authorities said Russian strikes on Saturday killed at least two people and injured others in Kharkiv oblast. A strike on a critical infrastructure facility in Kharkiv city's industrial district wounded one person. Mayor Ihor Terekhov said it could seriously affect power and heating, with the energy system "constantly operating at its limits." Another attack, on a house in the city, killed a 20-year-old woman and wounded others. In the village of Borivske, prosecutors said a drone hit a public transport stop and killed a 52-year-old woman.
In the Sumy region, emergency services reported an airstrike on a residential neighbourhood that wounded three women and a seven-year-old child and damaged 15 residential buildings.
The energy ministry said Russia also hit energy infrastructure in the Kyiv and Odesa regions overnight into Saturday. More than 20 settlements in the Kyiv region lost power. Zelenskyy said Ukraine must import more electricity and obtain additional equipment from partners. Energy minister Denys Shmyhal said officials have told the state companies Ukrzaliznytsia, Naftogaz and Ukroboronprom to urgently buy imported electricity covering at least 50% of their own consumption.
Shmyhal also announced that Lithuania will provide more energy generating equipment for Kyiv and the hardest-hit regions. It had already supplied equipment for emergency repairs at coal and nuclear plants. Ukraine has also received more than 2,000 solar panels along with other equipment and machinery, and Lithuania has put €5.7m into Ukraine's energy support fund. "There is not a single power plant left in Ukraine that has not been hit by Russian strikes," Shmyhal said, adding that energy workers keep repairing around the clock.
The next marker is the Miami talks and whether a deal is ready for signing in Davos next week.
Citações Notáveis
We do not see any willingness on the part of the aggressor to comply with any agreements or end the war.— Volodymyr Zelenskyy
There is not a single power plant left in Ukraine that has not been hit by Russian strikes.— Denys Shmyhal, energy minister
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War & Conflict