Russia launched "more than 500 missiles and drones" overnight, striking homes and energy facilities across Ukraine as temperatures fell to -20C. It comes after an apparent agreement to cease energy attacks temporarily, and ahead of trilateral talks tomorrow. Follow the latest.
Tuesday 3 February 2026 13:48, UK
As efforts to bring peace to Ukraine reach a crucial stage with talks in Abu Dhabi due to start tomorrow, defence analyst Professor Michael Clarke returns to answer your questions on the war.
Send him yours in the box at the top of the page before the live Q&A at 1pm tomorrow.
In his final answer, Volodymyr Zelenskyy runs through what he describes as the key parts of any peace deal with Russia, including the "most important" one.
First, the Ukrainian leader touches on the necessity of Ukraine having an army of necessary size (800,000 people he says) - this is a topic that has come up in previous draft peace plans.
He also speaks about Ukraine joining the EU, but says "the most important" aspect is security guarantees.
"The most important [thing] is what Europeans will be ready to do if Russia attacks us again, and what Americans [will be] ready to do in the same case. I think this is the most important answer. What are security guarantees for Ukraine and what do they mean."
This was one of the major hurdles to peace negotiations previously, but it seems to have been partly worked through with the Trump administration.
The news conference has now finished.
In a later question, Mark Rutte is asked about the overnight attack by Russia on Ukraine and what it means for peace efforts spearheaded by the US.
The NATO leader condemns the attack as plainly targeting civilian infrastructure and talks up the actions of Donald Trump.
He also stresses that Kyiv is ready for peace negotiations, saying:
"Zelenskyy is absolutely ready to play ball and come to a deal with the Russians... but this makes you question whether the Russians are serious. I know the American president is doing everything he can to bring this terrible war to an end and I commend him for that."
Rutte has often spoken glowingly of Trump and adds that he is "absolutely sure" the White House will have noticed the overnight attacks.
Rutte goes on: "[The US] will take this as it is... an attack on innocent, civilian infrastructure."
He adds: "This is nothing to do with winning a war... this is creating chaos."
The first question of the news conference is for Mark Rutte, and the NATO chief is asked if he can guarantee a supply of missiles for Ukraine via the PURL initiative.
The supply via PURL is a vital lifeline for Ukraine in allowing it to keep up a defence against Russia's nightly attacks.
Rutte says:
"Yes I am absolutely confident that the money will be there, because we all know it's crucial... there is an issue of burden sharing. At the moment, some allies are doing a lot, a lot are doing something and some are doing not much."
Rutte singles out the Baltic countries as carrying more of the burden than others.
The likes of Norway have previously raised concerns about bearing more of the costs than others.
"We need the burden to be shared between allies," Rutte adds.
As a reminder: PURL is a programme by which NATO allies of Ukraine buy US weapons and give them to Kyiv.
It was set up after Donald Trump cut off the flow of aid from Washington, set up by the previous president Joe Biden.
After Zelenskyy, Rutte speaks at the news conference in Kyiv.
He talks up the PURL initiative - through which NATO members purchase US arms and give them to Ukraine - and NATO's support for Ukraine.
Rutte claims that 75% of all missiles for Ukraine's batteries and 90% of missiles used in air defence systems supplied by Europe came via PURL.
He says:
"It's an inspiration to stand alongside you to affirm NATO's continued support for Ukraine... NATO stands with you, in words and with deeds."
Rutte also says NATO is helping fund rehab centres for Ukraine's soldiers.
Much of what he says is repeating often heard lines from Kyiv's European allies regarding how the war will be brought to an end and condemning Russia's targeting of energy infrastructure.
In his news conference with the NATO chief, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has covered his talks with Mark Rutte as well as the latest Russian attacks on Ukraine and talks with the US.
He said there needed to be dialogue with Russia, after the first trilateral talks between Moscow, Kyiv and Washington last month, but that "no one is ready to surrender".
The Ukrainian leader also accused Russia of disregarding US efforts by attacking energy infrastructure overnight.
Here's what else he said:
We're about to hear from Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Mark Rutte.
The pair are speaking in Kyiv during the NATO chief's visit.
Zelenskyy isn't speaking in English, but we expect Rutte to, so watch the latest in the stream at the top of the page and we'll bring you any updates here...
Ukraine's military says it has struck a Russian drone production centre in occupied territory.
The general staff of the armed forces said Ukrainian defence troops inflicted damage on "a number of enemy military facilities" over the past day.
Among them was a Russian drone training and production centre in a Russian-occupied area of the Zaporizhzhia region.
A little more now from Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who says the strategy of his negotiating team will be changed after Russia's massive bombardment of Ukrainian energy facilities last night.
The Ukrainian delegation will meet with US and Russian envoys for peace talks in Abu Dhabi tomorrow.
In a post to X, Zelenskyy said: "Each such Russian strike confirms that attitudes in Moscow have not changed: they continue to bet on war and the destruction of Ukraine, and they do not take diplomacy seriously.
"The work of our negotiating team will be adjusted accordingly."
Zelenskyy also said Russia's attacks show the need for additional support packages from Ukraine's partners - adding that he was having a "substantive discussion" on the issue with NATO chief Mark Rutte, who is visiting Kyiv today (see 9.24 post).
Russia's latest attacks involved a "record number" of ballistic missiles and were deliberately aimed at Ukraine's energy infrastructure as the country freezes, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said.
The Ukrainian leader also claimed Russia "exploited" a Trump-brokered pause in strikes to "stockpile missiles" rather than support diplomacy.
Among more than 70 missiles launched by Russia overnight, 32 were ballistic, Zelenskyy said, while 450 attack drones were also used.
"It was a deliberate attack against energy infrastructure, involving a record number of ballistic missiles," Zelenskyy wrote on X.
"In fact, the Russian army exploited the US proposal to briefly halt strikes not to support diplomacy, but to stockpile missiles and wait until the coldest days of the year, when temperatures across large parts of Ukraine drop below -20°C (-4°F)," he said.
Donald Trump announced on Thursday that Russia had agreed not to target Kyiv and "various towns" during the freezing conditions, but did not clarify for how long.
The Kremlin said it had agreed to the pause in order to "create favourable conditions" for peace talks this week.
Away from the conflict, Moscow has said it plans to watch and see how the situation evolves after the US announced India had agreed to stop buying Russian oil as part of a trade accord with Washington.
US President Donald Trump announced the trade deal with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying Modi had agreed to halt Russian oil purchases and lower trade barriers in return for slashed US tariffs on Indian exports.
He did not confirm when the purchases would end.
Trump said the deal also involved larger Indian purchases of American energy, coal, technology and farm products, and is the first phase of a broader pact to be negotiated later.
On India's pledge to stop buying Russian oil, Trump said on Truth Social: "This will help END THE WAR in Ukraine, which is taking place right now, with thousands of people dying each and every week!"
The Kremlin has responded saying it has received no such statements from India, but values the relationship between the two countries. Meanwhile, Russian deputy prime minister Alexander Novak told reporters Moscow would "see how the situation develops".
Two refining sources have told the Reuters news agency that Indian refiners have not been told by the government to stop buying Russian oil and would need a wind-down period to complete existing orders.
New Delhi sparked backlash from the West after becoming the top buyer of discounted Russian crude oil after its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
A third source said India will gradually cut Russian imports, but suggested a complete ban would impact operations at India's Nayara Energy refinery, half owned by Russian energy company Rosneft.
Be the first to get Breaking News
Install the Paste BN app for free
