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 13:09, UK
Zelenskyy
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 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.
Russia's latest aerial attack on Ukraine's energy grid was the biggest since the start of the year, according to private energy company DTEK.
The company said on Telegram that power generation and distribution facilities came under attack.
Some of its thermal power plants were "severely damaged", it said, while part of Kyiv's left bank were forced into energy shutdowns as a result of the strikes.
"The energy system operates with serious restrictions. Energy workers are doing everything possible to stabilise the power supply to the affected areas," DTEK said.
As we've been reporting, officials for Ukraine, Russia and the US will convene tomorrow for talks focused on securing a peace deal to end the war.
It is the second round of the landmark trilateral talks, which first took place in late January.
Though there were hints of progress from the talks, there was no movement on the key question of territory - Russia wants Ukraine to cede more land in the east, which Kyiv says it will not accept.
Moscow and Kyiv blame each other for the failure to agree a peace deal so far.
Who will attend the talks?
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed in a press call that the Russian delegation will be the same as in January, and will be headed by Admiral Igor Kostyukov - head of Russian intelligence.
On the US side, two officials have told our US partner network NBC News that special envoy Steve Witkoff and Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner will travel to Abu Dhabi for the talks.
Witkoff said on Saturday that an American delegation had held "productive and constructive" discussions with Russian envoys in Florida, a day before the next round of trilateral talks were originally scheduled to take place.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy said yesterday that he met with the Ukrainian negotiating team ahead of the new round of talks to approve "frameworks" and "set specific tasks".
He said nearly all members attended, with the team including national security secretary Rustem Umerov, Kyrylo Budanov, head of the president's office, and Andrii Hnatov, chief of the general staff.
We're hearing a little from NATO chief Mark Rutte now, who is visiting Kyiv and has been addressing Ukraine's parliament this morning.
The secretary-general of the alliance warned that reaching a peace deal to end the conflict will require tough choices.
It comes on the eve of a second round of trilateral peace talks between US, Ukrainian and Russian delegations in Abu Dhabi.
The first round of talks last month were said to be constructive, but key issues still remain, including the question of who keeps Ukrainian land currently occupied by Russian forces.
The talks were due to be held at the weekend, but Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Sunday that they would be delayed. He said his country was ready for a "substantive discussion".
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