Zelenskiy says Russia largely observing energy ceasefire ahead of peace talks
KYIV, Feb 2 (Reuters) – Russia has largely complied with a ceasefire in Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday, as Kiev prepared for the next round of trilateral talks on how to end the war.
Zelenskiy said Russia had not carried out any targeted missile or drone attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in the last 24 hours, although front-line energy facilities came under fire.
“De-escalation measures… help build public confidence in the negotiation process and its possible outcomes. The war must be ended,” Zelenskiy said in a statement after meeting the negotiating team ahead of the next round of peace talks with Russian and US officials in Abu Dhabi this week. he said.
“Ukraine is ready for real steps. We believe that it is realistic to achieve an honorable and lasting peace.”
Russia and Ukraine announced last week that they had stopped attacks on each other’s energy infrastructures, but they could not agree on the time frame for the ceasefire.
US President Donald Trump made a personal request to Russian President Vladimir Putin to refrain from attacking Kiev until February 1, the Kremlin said. Zelenskiy said that the ceasefire should last for a week, starting from January 30.
UKRAINE STRUGGLES TO RENEW ITS POWER SOURCES
Ukraine is trying to repair its battered energy system and secure electricity and heating supplies to the population after several major Russian attacks this month. Repair work was complicated by extremely cold weather.
“Today we are reaching the critical point. We need some time to save what has been destroyed in the last three months,” Maxim Timchenko, CEO of private energy producer DTEK, told Reuters.
“…the energy ceasefire is extremely important for our partial recovery and to avoid tragic consequences due to lack of power supply.”
One of its coal mining operations in the Dnipropetrovsk region was attacked for the second time in 24 hours, DTEK said on Monday. The company said 12 miners were killed at a coal mine in the area during a previous strike on Sunday.
Zelenskiy also said that Russian forces are focusing on attacking transportation logistics, especially railway infrastructure.
Regional officials said that a father and a son died and two children and their mother were injured in the attack carried out in Russia’s front-line Donetsk region.
(Reporting by Anna Pruchnicka, Olena Harmash and Mykhailo Moskalenko; Writing by Olena Harmash, Editing by Ros Russell)
