Zelensky seeks Trump meeting as he hails ‘productive’ US work
Volodymyr Zelensky is seeking a meeting with Donald Trump as he hails the White House for its “productive” work.
Kyiv is under US pressure to secure peace but wants security guarantees from allies and is pushing back on Russian demands to cede its eastern Donetsk region and give up control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
Speaking to reporters over WhatsApp on Wednesday, Mr Zelensky said he wanted another meeting with Trump soon to gauge his openness to a Ukrainian proposal that Washington ensure security for Kyiv for more than 15 years in the event of a ceasefire.
He also urged Trump to step up pressure on Russia, which has been cool on the US-backed peace push and is pressing on with its massive air attacks on Ukrainian cities and the country’s energy grid.
“The Americans, in my view, are being productive right now; we have good results… They need to put pressure on Russia. They have the tools, and they know how to use them,” Mr Zelensky said.
(Getty Images)
Alex Croft8 January 2026 09:15
MPs to get vote on deploying UK peace-keeping troops to Ukraine – ICYMIMPs to get vote on deploying UK peace-keeping troops to Ukraine
Alex Croft8 January 2026 08:46
Russia fires nearly 100 drones at Ukraine overnight
Russia fired nearly 100 drones at Ukraine overnight, the Ukrainian Air Force has reported.
“Early reports show that as of 08:00, air defence units had shot down or jammed 70 enemy Shahed and Gerbera loitering munitions as well as drones of other types over the country’s east and south,” it said in a statement, confirming that 97 drones attacked Ukraine.
“Strikes by 27 attack UAVs had been recorded at 13 locations and the fall of downed drones (debris) at one location.”
Alex Croft8 January 2026 08:29
800,000 without power in Dnipropetrovsk after Russian attack
We’ve just received an update from Ukraine’s energy ministry, following a huge overnight attack which has cut off electricity to huge swathes of eastern Ukraine.
The ministry has said that nearly 800,000 consumers were without power in the southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region after Russian strikes on energy infrastructure.
In a statement, it added that eight mines in the region had faced blackouts but that workers had been evacuated.
Alex Croft8 January 2026 08:16
In pictures: Ukrainian military carries out exercises in Zaporizhzhia
Russia controls large parts of the Zaporizhzhia region (65th Mechanized Brigade of Ukrai)
Ukrainian military carries out exercises in Zaporizhzhia on Wednesday, which has been the subject of heavy attack in the past day (REUTERS)
The exercises came before the Russian army carried out nearly 700 attacks on Zaporizhzhia in just one day, according to the region’s military administration (REUTERS)
Alex Croft8 January 2026 07:52
At least three killed and two injured in attack on Ukraine’s southern regions
At least three people have been killed in Russian attacks on the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, Ukrainian authorities have said.
Seven were also injured in the attacks, which came during a large overnight air attack. The Zaporizhzhia military administration said Russia had conducted 698 attacks against 30 settlements over the past day, including 11 air strikes and 412 drone attacks of various types.
Russian forces targeted critical and social infrastructure alongside residential areas, they said according to Ukrainska Pravda.
Alex Croft8 January 2026 07:38
Ukraine says repairs to services ongoing after Russian strikes on Dnipropetrovsk
Ukrainian authorities are carrying out repairs this morning to restore heat and water to more than one million consumers left without power, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister Oleksiy Kuleba said.
The Russian aerial attacks yesterday late night targeted critical infrastructure in southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region.
The attack knocked out power supplies almost entirely in two regions of southeastern Ukraine, including Dnipropetrovsk.
Arpan Rai8 January 2026 07:22
Watch: Zelensky says ‘peace negotiations have reached a new level of intensity’Zelensky says ‘peace negotiations have reached a new level of intensity’
Arpan Rai8 January 2026 06:40
Zelensky says war could end in first half of 2026 as ‘new milestone’ reached
President Volodymyr Zelensky said he believes Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine could be brought to an end in the first half of this year, adding that the negotiations have reached a new milestone.
The Ukrainian leader was speaking at a ceremony marking the start of Cyprus’s European Union presidency.
“As Cyprus begins its presidency of the Council of the EU, we note that the negotiations have reached a new milestone together with our European partners and, of course, the United States, and all members of the Coalition of the Willing,” Zelensky said.
“We sincerely believe that this war can be ended during your presidency of the Council of the EU,” he said.
The Mediterranean nation’s presidency of the Council of the EU will end in six months, at the end of June.
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky and Cyprus’ president Nikos Christodoulides greet each other as they leave a theater in Nicosia, Cyprus (AP)
Arpan Rai8 January 2026 06:35
Trump finally gives green light to major Russia sanctions bill
Trump will allow Russia sanctions bill to advance in Congress, US Senator says
US president Donald Trump will allow a bipartisan sanctions bill targeting countries doing business with Russia to move forward in Congress and it could be put to a vote as early as next week, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said on Wednesday.
Graham said in a statement Trump had “greenlit” the legislation after the pair met yesterday.
The legislation, which Graham has been working on with fellow Republicans and Democrats for months, would impose sanctions on countries doing business with Russia, including buyers of its energy exports, over Moscow’s failure to negotiate a peace deal with Ukraine. Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
“This bill will allow President Trump to punish those countries who buy cheap Russian oil fueling Putin’s war machine,” Graham said, citing China, India and Brazil as potential targets of the legislation.
Graham, a senator from South Carolina, said he is looking forward to a “strong bipartisan vote” on the legislation to take place as early as next week.
Arpan Rai8 January 2026 06:18