Zelensky reveals the official date for concluding security guarantees agreements

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday he hoped Ukraine would sign agreements with the United States next week on a plan to end the war, but sharply criticized the slow arrival of ammunition from partners.

US President Donald Trump is pressing for a halt to the war, and especially for Ukraine, to accept conditions that Kyiv has described as a surrender to Russia.

Key points of contention remain between Kyiv and Washington, and Ukraine is seeking clarifications from its allies on the security guarantees it will receive as part of the peace plan, which it sees as vital to deterring Russia from re-invading.

On Friday, Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States, Olga Stefanishina, announced that negotiations will take place tomorrow (Saturday) in Miami, Florida between Ukrainian negotiators and the US side, without specifying who will represent Washington.

Zelensky was speaking as Russian strikes knocked out heating for thousands in Kyiv days ago, while temperatures dropped to -15 degrees Celsius.

Vitali Klitschko, mayor of the Kyiv, has ordered schools to be closed until February to preserve children’s safety.

Regarding the talks with Washington, Zelensky said, “We hope that things will be clear in terms of the documents that we have prepared with the US side, and in terms of Russia’s response to all ongoing diplomatic efforts”.

“If everything is done, if the US side agrees — because I believe from our side, in principle it has been done — then it will be possible to sign during Davos,” he said.

Zelensky and Donald Trump are expected to participate in next week’s World Economic Forum.

On the other hand, Zelensky acknowledged that there are problems with Ukraine’s air defense systems at a critical moment in the war.

He explained that some of the air defense systems that Ukraine obtained from Western allies have run out of ammunition amid a wave of Russian attacks that have destroyed energy infrastructure.

Kyiv said more than 15,000 energy workers were racing against time in freezing temperatures to restart power plants and substations that had been bombed in recent days by the launch of hundreds of Russian drones and missiles.

Zelensky has repeatedly appealed to his allies to strengthen air defense systems to protect basic civilian infrastructure from daily Russian shelling.

“Until this morning, we had several systems without missiles… Today I can say this publicly because I got these missiles”.

The attacks have raised fears that millions of Ukrainians could be deprived of electricity and heating for long periods during a bitter cold spell in which temperatures have dropped to -20 degrees Celsius in some areas.

On the other hand, The Kremlin says its forces only target military installations.

Ukraine relies on its Western partners to provide several advanced and vital air defense systems, including US-made Patriot system.

But Zelensky said during a press conference with Czech President Peter Pavel that all these systems need a continuous supply of missiles.

He urged European allies and the United States to increase supplies, saying: “We received a large package this morning… He has arrived and we can talk about it”.

“But this comes at a high price – from the effort, the blood and the lives of the people”.

After nearly four years of war, Russian forces are shelling Ukrainian cities and advancing steadily on the front line.

On Friday, Moscow announced that its forces had taken control of two additional villages in the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions in the east.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials announced that Russian shelling killed two people in the industrial city of Nikopol in the center of the country.

In Kyiv, the government is still struggling to respond to one of the worst and longest power outages since the beginning of the war.

Ukraine’s new energy minister, Denys Shmyhal, told parliament on Friday that Russia is betting on its ability to break us through energy terrorism.

From her part, Prime Minister Yulia Sveridenko announced that the government had 20 days of fuel reserves.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian government is easing the strict curfew restrictions imposed at the start of the war in February 2022, to allow Ukrainians access to emergency centers that provide heating and electricity.

Earlier on Friday, Shmyhal ordered state-owned electricity companies to increase their imports of electricity from abroad to ease the burden on consumers.