Ukraine-Russia war latest: Trump claims it is Zelensky, not Putin, holding up peace deal

Russia will not agree to a ceasefire before a peace deal, the country’s veteran foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has said.

Mr Lavrov added that it would be helpful if the US updated Moscow on the latest developments in peace proposals for Ukraine.

US envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner are seeking to travel to Moscow to meet Russian president Vladimir Putin.

Donald Trump has hinted at a likely meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland next week.

“I would – if he’s there,” Trump said. “I’m going to be there.”

Asked why he believed Zelensky was holding back on negotiations, Trump did not elaborate, saying only: “I just think he’s, you know, having a hard time getting there.”

Zelensky has publicly ruled out any territorial concessions to Moscow, saying Kyiv has no right under the country’s constitution to give up any land.

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

At Boryspil, a town in the Kyiv region with a population of around 60,000, workers dismantled and rebuilt burned-out electrical systems as they rushed to fix the damage.

They work in the snow amid temperatures of -15 C (13 degrees F) from early morning till midnight, said Yurii Bryzh, who leads the Boryspil regional department of private electricity provider DTEK.

They have managed to restore the supply for four hours a day. But Bryzh said the problem was “when the power comes back on, people turn on all the electrical equipment that is available in the house” as they dash to wash, cook or recharge their phones. That collapses the system again, he said.

The hardship of civilians is acute amid what Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko described as the longest and broadest outages since Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor almost four years ago. Some homes have been going without electricity for days.

Donald Trump has claimed Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky is holding up a potential peace deal, not Russian leader Vladimir Putin, in a fresh U-turn.

Speaking to Reuters in the Oval Office yesterday, Trump said Putin is ready to wrap up his nearly four-year-old invasion of Ukraine. Zelensky, he said, was more reticent.

His claim is in sharp contrast with European allies who have proven Putin as the key figure ramping up military aggression and rejecting peace proposals from Trump’s envoys.

“I think he’s ready to make a deal,” Trump said of the Russian president. “I think Ukraine is less ready to make a deal.”

Asked why US-led negotiations had not yet resolved Europe’s largest land conflict since the Second World War, Trump responded: “Zelensky”.

European governments are pushing the EU to create a dedicated negotiator role for talks with Russia over Ukraine, amid fears that the US could strike a deal with Moscow that sidelines Europe, Politico has reported.

Backed by France and Italy, the proposal would mark a significant shift in EU diplomacy, providing the bloc with its own channel to defend key red lines, such as Ukraine’s future security and Nato ambitions, as US president Donald Trump pursues bilateral talks with Vladimir Putin, the outlet said.

Citing three unidentified diplomats, Politico said supporters argue that EU needs a seat at the table to safeguard its security interests.

Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky has urged the US to speed up security guarantees for his country.

“Work with America on security guarantees, on economic agreements, and on the political document needs to be swift,” he said in his nightly address.

“On our end, we are being as productive as possible. We also expect energy from the American side in their work.”

Russian forces have taken more than 300 sq km (116 sq miles) of Ukrainian territory in the first 15 days of this month, according to a claim by Russian army chief Valery Gerasimov.

Russia said it took a total of 6,640 sq km of territory from its smaller neighbour last year.

Kyiv has yet to respond to Gerasimov’s claim.

Crews have been working around the clock to restore power and heating supplies struck by Russia last week, particularly in the capital, Kyiv.

Repairs to thousands of apartment buildings have been compounded by bitterly cold conditions.

At night, Ukrainians have been shivering through temperatures close to -20C in one of the coldest winters in years.

“The consequences of Russian strikes and deteriorating weather conditions are severe,” Mr Zelensky wrote in English on the social media platform X.

“Overall, a state of emergency will be declared for Ukraine’s energy sector … Many issues require urgent resolution.”

The European Union will dedicate most of a massive new loan program to Ukraine’s military needs over the next two years while also injecting billions into its war-ravaged economy, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said.

The loan allows Ukraine, on the verge of bankruptcy, to purchase its much-needed military equipment from non-European markets. The International Monetary Fund estimates Ukraine will need €137bn (£118bn) over the two years.

Under the “Ukraine Support Loan” programme, EU leaders agreed last month to loan Ukraine €90bn (£78bn) to help cover its needs in 2026 and 2027 and Kyiv would only have to pay the money back once Russia ends its war and pays reparations for the damage it has inflicted over almost four years.

“We all want peace for Ukraine, and for that Ukraine must be in a position of strength,” von der Leyen said as she explained the commission’s spending plans to reporters.

She said €60bn (£52bn) would be for military support, and €30bn (£26bn) for budget aid.

“With the military assistance, Ukraine can stand strong against Russia, and at the same time it can integrate more closely into Europe’s defence industrial base,” von der Leyen told reporters.

Volodymyr Zelensky said he is declaring a state of emergency in Ukraine’s energy sector to make up for lost time and tackle issues of disrupted power supplies following sustained Russian attacks on infrastructure.

Ukrainian cities are now in dire need of energy supply but repairs to thousands of apartment blocks have been compounded by frigid weather, with night-time temperatures dipping close to – 20 deg C.

Russia’s relentless assault on Ukraine’s cities, especially major cities like Kyiv and Kharkiv, have surged in the past peak winter week in Vladimir Putin’s bid to count more on freezing weather than diplomacy to end the war, Zelensky had said.

Zelensky said not enough had been done to deal with the aftermath of the attacks and the state of emergency would allow authorities “more options and flexibility.”

He called for the establishment of more centres where residents can stay warm and charge electronic devices, and said nightly curfews could be lifted in areas where the security situation permitted it.