Russia claims two more villages in Ukraine
Russia’s defence ministry said today that forces had captured the villages of Petrivka and Toretske.
Petrivka is in Ukraine’s southeastern Zaporizhzhia region. Toretske is in the eastern Donetsk region.
It was not possible to immediately verify the claims.
James Reynolds31 January 2026 13:30
Chernobyl power station knocked offline
The Ukrainian power station at Chernobyl briefly lost all off site power, the UN’s atomic watchdog reported on Saturday.
Ukraine is working to stabilise the grid and restore output, they said, adding that there no direct impact on nuclear safety was expected.
Although no longer a working power station, the plant still requires constant management.
Parts of Ukraine and Moldova, including the capitals of both neighbouring countries, were plunged into blackouts on Saturday caused by malfunctions to high-voltage power lines, officials said.
James Reynolds31 January 2026 12:53
‘Millions for Ukraine held in USAID limbo’, officials claim
US and European officials are concerned that millions of dollars set aside for energy assistance for Ukraine have not been released at a time when Russia is scaling up attacks on energy infrastructure.
Several sources, including a US official and a Ukrainian official, told Reuters that the US Agency for International Development (USAID) had been expected to release the funds before Donald Trump effectively shuttered the agency last year.
Some of the funds fell into what sources called a bureaucratic limbo. It was unclear how much was held up. The previous Biden administration pledged significant funding for Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, including $824m in mid-2024, for instance.
People wait in line to receive free hot meals in Kyiv on Friday (AP)
James Reynolds31 January 2026 12:30
Zelensky rejects Putin’s offer to come to Moscow
Volodymyr Zelensky rejected Russia’s offer to travel to Moscow on Friday, while signalling he was open to meet with Vladimir Putin in a more appropriate format.
“I can just as well invite him to Kyiv, let him come. I’m openly inviting him, if he dares,” Zelensky told reporters.
He added: “We are serious about the need to end the war. Any real format for a meeting of leaders is suitable.”
The two leaders have not met since 2019, before the start of the full-scale war.
James Reynolds31 January 2026 12:00
Ukrainian power knocked out by line disruptions
Technical disruptions on two power lines connecting Ukraine, Moldova and Romania knocked out power across the Ukrainian grid on Saturday, the country’s energy minister said.
At least three regions and the capital of Kyiv were experiencing emergency power cuts, Denys Shmуhal added on the Telegram app.
He expects the power supply to be restored in the coming hours.
James Reynolds31 January 2026 11:33
In pictures: Kyiv residents wait for free hot meals amid power and heating outages
People gather outside a metro entrance as public transport experiences disruptions during sub-zero temperatures (REUTERS)
People wait in line to receive free hot meals in a residential neighbourhood in Kyiv (AP)
James Reynolds31 January 2026 11:30
Watch: Trump says Putin agreed to not fire on Kyiv for a week during cold
Russia said on Friday that Putin had agreed to stop striking Kyiv for a week – ending on Sunday.
Trump says Putin agreed to not fire on Kyiv for a week during cold
James Reynolds31 January 2026 11:00
Recap: Both sides avoid strikes on energy infrastructure, Zelensky says
Ukraine’s Zelensky said on Friday that neither Kyiv nor Russia had struck energy targets in the wake of a new agreement initiated by the US for Russia to refrain from such attacks.
“In all our regions, there were indeed no strikes on energy facilities from Thursday night to Friday,” Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address.
“Ukraine is ready in reciprocal terms to refrain from strikes and today we did not strike at Russian energy facilities.”
He said Russia was engaged in a “reorientation” of its military activity by attacking logistics, like rail junctions.
James Reynolds31 January 2026 10:30
Russia’s special envoy Kirill Dmitriev is expected in Miami today for meetings with members of the Trump administration, two sources said yesterday.
A trilateral meeting between Russian, Ukrainian and US negotiators was scheduled for Sunday in the UAE, but Zelensky said on Friday the date or location may change.
Marco Rubio said earlier in the week that Trump’s top envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would not participate in the scheduled meeting this weekend.
Ukraine is bracing for a new cold spell from Sunday with millions still affected by power outages affecting heating.
The fragile agreement for Russia not to strike energy infrastructure held on Friday. Russia said it would pause attacks on Kyiv until next Sunday to “create favourable conditions” for peace talks.
James Reynolds31 January 2026 10:00
Top floor residents in Kyiv expected to freeze to death as temperatures plummet to -24C
Temperatures in the Ukrainian capital are expected to fall to around -12F (-24.4C) next week as the country grapples with enduring power outages, leaving millions exposed to the brutal winter cold.
Cuts to heating have left homes as cold as 45F (7C) in Kyiv, with outages exacerbated by continued Russian attacks on power plants and pipelines.
Ukrainian officials told foreign diplomats in Kyiv in recent days that all of the country’s major energy plants have been “damaged or ruined”.
Mykola Murskyj, the director of advocacy at Razom, a non-profit group supporting Ukraine, said of next week’s expected cold snap: “They’re preparing for the fact that people in the upper (stories) of apartment buildings are going to freeze to death.
“They’re preparing to retrieve the bodies. It’s extremely grim.”
People warm up inside a restaurant in Kyiv on Friday (REUTERS)
James Reynolds31 January 2026 09:30