CloseVolodymyr Zelensky has suggested that trilateral talks due to take place on Sunday will be delayed until next week as Donald Trump focuses on the “situation with Iran”.
In his nightly video address on Saturday, the Ukrainian President said he was waiting for more information from the US, which is brokering the negotiations, on where and when the talks would next take place.
He had previously suggested that Sunday’s anticipated meeting between Ukraine, Russia and the US could be delayed due to the ongoing tensions between the US and Iran.
"We are in constant communication with the American side and are expecting specific details from them regarding further meetings,” he said. "We are counting on meetings next week and are preparing for them."
The three sides last met a week ago, and Zelensky said Kyiv was still “ready to work in all formats” to secure an elusive peace deal.
On Saturday, US special envoy Steve Witkoff held “productive and constructive” talks with Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev in Florida.
Mr Witkoff said the territorial issue of Donbas remained key in making progress in the negotiations, with Kyiv refusing Moscow’s demand to relinquish the region.
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Kyiv metro suspended and water supplies cut
The metro in Kyiv suspended operations and water supplies in the city were cut temporarily.
The state emergency service said its teams led 500 stranded passengers out of metro stations. Some passengers were seen waiting at a station with dimmed lights in anticipation of electricity being restored.
Traffic lights and some public transport in Chisinau were not working, according to the city's mayor, and most districts did not have electricity.
The accident caused a shutdown on Ukraine's side, triggering automatic protection at substations and the temporary disconnection of nuclear power plant units from the grid, Ukrainian energy minister Denys Shmyhal said.
Adam Withnall1 February 2026 07:15
Nearly 3,500 apartment buildings in Kyiv without power
Zelensky said nearly 3,500 apartment buildings lack heating in the capital.
"The city and utilities and energy experts are promising to fix the heating situation by tomorrow morning," he said. "But the pace should be faster."
Russia agreed to halt strikes on energy infrastructure until Sunday at the request of US president Donald Trump. Kyiv said it would reciprocate, and the countries did not report major attacks.
Regions in both Ukraine and Moldova were affected after the malfunction at 10.42am Kyiv time. Officials in both countries said power was restored later in the day following efforts to stabilise interconnected grids.
Officials in Moldova said it took 3 and a half hours for power supplies to return to normal in the country lying between Ukraine and Romania.
Adam Withnall1 February 2026 06:31
Grid outages 'led to cascade of shutdowns'
Ukrainian energy minister Denys Shmyhal said the two line outages between Ukraine and Romania and Moldova respectively occurred within a minute of each other, "leading to a cascade of shutdowns in seven regions of the country."
Moldova's energy ministry said the disruption there was triggered by problems in Ukraine's grid that led to a voltage drop on the line connecting Romania and Moldova.
Reuters said Romania's energy ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The system is under greater pressure as forecast night-time temperatures of -13 degrees Celsius (9 Fahrenheit) in Kyiv are due to sink to -22 C on Monday.
Adam Withnall1 February 2026 05:55
Ukraine and Moldova hit by blackouts from grid malfunction
Parts of Ukraine and Moldova, including the neighbouring countries' capitals, were plunged into blackouts on Saturday caused by a malfunction of high-voltage power lines, officials said. Power was restored later in the day.
Officials did not directly link the accident to war damage, although Ukraine's power grid has suffered from the accumulated impact of Russian airstrikes, leading to severe restrictions on electricity supplies in recent weeks.
President Volodymyr Zelensky blamed ice buildup on power lines and ruled out a cyberattack.
"In the morning, a technological accident occurred on the power grid: two lines between Romania and Moldova and within the territory of Ukraine stopped operating," he said in his nightly video address. "The causes are being thoroughly investigated."
He said Ukraine had increased power imports to meet demand.
Adam Withnall1 February 2026 05:21
Analysis: Why Iran is the wrong war for Trump to back
Chaotic, unprincipled and dangerously effective, Donald Trump’s latest foreign policy move in Ukraine may provide a brief respite from Russian bombing in plunging temperatures that have left civilians freezing in their homes.
The danger lies in what he expects to get in return for securing a week-long agreement from Vladimir Putin to hold off on tormenting Ukraine. The concession he will, no doubt, demand is that Kyiv give in to the Kremlin’s demands to hand over his most potent defensive lines and fortress cities without a shot being fired in return for a longer “ceasefire”.
Trump has been backing the wrong side in Ukraine, and may soon launch a war in Iran that he cannot control.
US negotiators have been trying to get Volodymyr Zelensky to agree to cede all of Donetsk and most of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson provinces as a reward for Russia’s bloody invasion that has, by many estimates, cost the country 1.2 million casualties.
The US administration has cut all military aid for Ukraine and allows only an intelligence feed to Kyiv’s forces, leaving its energy system so vulnerable to air attacks by Russia that most Ukrainians have no power in their homes.
World affairs editor Sam Kiley writes:
Why Iran is the wrong war for Trump to back
Trump may be very proud of his ‘armada’ off the coast of Iran but the US president could look good, back a winner, and support his allies by leaving Tehran alone and helping Ukraine win instead, writes world affairs editor Sam KileyHarriette Boucher1 February 2026 04:01
Watch: NATO warns Ukraine faces 'harshest winter' as Russia targets energy grid
Harriette Boucher1 February 2026 03:15
Trump envoy showed ‘troubling lack of knowledge at Ukraine peace talks and could not say when war began’
One of Donald Trump’s senior envoys for Ukraine has sparked alarm after making a series of blunders during crucial peace talks, according to a report.
The unnamed official is alleged to have made several comments that exposed a basic lack of knowledge about the war between Ukraine and Russia during trilateral peace talks in Abu Dhabi last week.
The talks, set to continue this weekend, are the first between the three countries since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022 – but the comments in the Kyiv Independent have led to fears that inexperience and misunderstanding could pose a risk to Kyiv.
The Independent’s Maira Butt reports:
Trump envoy showed ‘troubling lack of knowledge at Ukraine peace talks
The unnamed official viewed ‘territorial issues like real estate’, a senior Ukrainian official claimed. The White House has pushed back on the reportHarriette Boucher1 February 2026 02:10
Witkoff reports 'productive and constructive' Ukraine talks with Russia
US special envoy Steve Witkoff said he held “productive and constructive meetings” with Russian special envoy Kirill Dmitriev in Florida on Saturday as peace talks set for Sunday have been postponed until next week.
In a post on social media, Mr Witkoff said: “Today in Florida, the Russian Special Envoy Kirill Dmitriev held productive and constructive meetings as part of the U.S. mediation effort toward advancing a peaceful resolution of the Ukrainian conflict.
“We are encouraged by this meeting that Russia is working toward securing peace in Ukraine and is grateful for @POTUS’s critical leadership in seeking a durable and lasting peace.”
Harriette Boucher1 February 2026 01:15
Ukraine to receive two lorries worth of spuds in Berlin potato dump
Ukraine is receiving two lorries worth of potatoes after Berlin experienced a bumper harvest year with its biggest crop in more than two decades.
The phenomenon has inspired a potato dump in Berlin, as farmers, not wanting their produce to go to waste, have given away their potatoes away to soup kitchens, schools, churches, and the public.
Two lorries worth of spuds have also been delivered to Ukraine.
It comes as the country experiences a brutal winter, with temperatures in some areas dropping to -30C.
Russia has been repeatedly targeting Ukraine’s energy grid, leaving thousands of Ukrainians without power or food.
Harriette Boucher1 February 2026 00:20
Mapped: Battlefield situation as of Friday
The British Ministry of Defence shared its latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine on Friday:
