Ukraine, electricity returns to Chernobyl. Zelensky skips Davos
His negotiators, however, are in Switzerland and are meeting with France, Germany and Great Britain. 600,000 people evacuated in Kiev in 10 days
by Giulia Riva
Key points
- Zelensky: 'I will only go to Davos with energy and defence package'
- European Parliament: emergency procedure for 90 billion loan
- Tomorrow G7 meeting at French invitation
- Lavrov: "Relations between Italy and Russia are at their lowest point"
- Kiev again under attack: drones and missiles on the waterless capital
The death toll of the Russian drone attack in Zaporizhzhia has risen to at least three'. This was reported by Rbc-Ukraine, quoting the head of the regional state administration of Zaporizhia, Ivan Fedorov. At least six private houses were damaged and three cars went up in flames. The Chernobyl nuclear power plant was reconnected to the Ukrainian power grid after hours without electricity following the latest Russian attacks. This was stated by the director, Serguiï Tarakanov. "Several Ukrainian power substations, vital for nuclear safety, were hit this morning by intense military activity" and "the ChNpp nuclear power plant (Chernobyl , ed.) has lost all external power and the power lines of other nuclear power plants have also been affected," International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi warned via X. "The IEA is actively monitoring the developments to assess the impact on nuclear safety," he assured.
Zelensky: 'I will only go to Davos with energy and defence package'
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has let it be known that he will not be travelling (at least for now) to the Davos Economic Forum: he will remain in Ukraine because of the night bombings. His speech at the 56th World Economic Forum was scheduled for Tuesday 20 January at 2.30 p.m. If an agreement could be reached on security guarantees, however, he could organise a flight to Switzerland.
There are two key issues that would lead him to change his mind: energy and air defence. "If the documents are ready, we will meet and there will be a trip. If there are energy packages or decisions on additional air defence, I will definitely go," the Ukrainian president assured. "But for now, I have a challenge in Ukraine," Zelensky said, as reported by Rbc-Ukraine.
Asked whether the negotiations between the Ukrainian and American teams - which took place in Florida last weekend - ended in a deadlock, Zelensky replied that they did not. In an online conversation with journalists reported by Ukrainska Pravda Zelensky agreed that there had been little communication from either Ukraine or the US. But "I don't see a deadlock yet," the Ukrainian president replied. 'We are working on the documents. It's a fairly banal phrase: the last mile is the most difficult,' he continued. The Ukrainian president added that talks are ongoing with US representatives. "I have already communicated several times with Umerov. And he is constantly in contact with Witkoff and Kushner. So there is a lot of energy in the communication, but we need a result," Zelensky concluded.
Meanwhile - just from Davos - the Ukrainian negotiating team led by Rustem Umerov, with Kyrilo Budanov and David Arakhamia, met with the national security advisers of France, Germany and Britain. The Kiev National Security Advisor made this known in a tweet. "We synchronised our approaches on security guarantees and further diplomatic efforts," Umerov wrote, pointing out that there will be more meetings with partners in the coming hours, again on security guarantees, economic developments and Ukraine's recovery.
