Russia Batters Ukraine's Power Grid    01/20 06:01

   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 invasion of its neighbor anytime soon.

   KYIV, Ukraine (AP) -- 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 invasion of 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 minus 20 C (minus 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 
U.S.-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 
finalize with U.S. officials documents for a proposed peace settlement that 
relate to postwar security guarantees and economic recovery. If American 
officials approve the proposals, the U.S. and Ukraine could sign the documents 
at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, this week, he said.

   Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday that presidential envoy Kirill 
Dmitriev plans to meet with some American representatives at Davos.

   He refused to name the officials Dmitriev would meet with, but media reports 
said they would include U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and U.S. President Donald 
Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

   Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said his country needs urgent 
assistance and additional sanctions on Russia to make Moscow change course.

   Russian President Vladimir Putin's "barbaric strike this morning is a 
wake-up call to world leaders gathering in Davos," Sybiha said on X.

   U.N. Human Rights Chief Volker Trk said that he was outraged by the 
repeated large-scale attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, which 
especially affect children, older people and those with disabilities.

   The strikes "can only be described as cruel," he said in Geneva. "They must 
stop. Targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure is a clear breach of the 
rules of warfare."

   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 defenses and, according to 
Zelenskyy, some systems recently ran out of ammunition before a new shipment 
arrived.

   He said late Monday that air defenses are adopting a new approach, with the 
appointment of a new deputy air force commander, Pavlo Yelizarov.

   "This system will be transformed," he said, without providing details.

   Ukraine relies on sophisticated air defense systems produced by Western 
countries, especially the U.S., to thwart Russia's missile and drone attacks.