Ukraine to reciprocate as Russia halts Kyiv strike

Kyiv: Ukraine said it was ready to reciprocate as Russia agreed to a request from US President Trump to halt airstrikes on Kyiv until Feb 1 amid harsh winter temperatures, and as Washington pushed for a diplomatic solution to end the war.

But as the Ukrainian capital braced for another bitterly cold spell from Sunday, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday there was no formal truce between the two countries. He added Russia had shifted to hitting Ukrainian logistics.

The Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin had accepted Trump’s request to stop bombarding Kyiv to create “favourable conditions” for peace talks. Russia’s strikes on energy infrastructure in Kyiv have left hundreds of thousands of people without heating in their homes as temperatures dipped below minus 15C. Zelensky said Kyiv was ready to reciprocate, halting its attacks on Russian refinery infrastructure, saying this was “an opportunity rather than an agreement”.




IAEA discusses risks to Ukraine’s nuke safety

The UN atomic watchdog’s board held a special session Friday to discuss risks to nuclear safety in Ukraine as concerns mount that relentless Russian attacks on its energy infrastructure pose an increasing danger of a nuclear accident. The urgent meeting of International Atomic Energy Agency’s board of governors was held at the request of the Netherlands with support from 11 other countries.