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Limited ceasefire requested by Trump ends as Moscow resumes attacking Kyiv and other major Ukrainian cities
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Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Moscow of exploiting a US proposal to briefly halt strikes in Ukraine to stockpile missiles, rather than support diplomacy.
Russia has resumed its attacks following a brief pause over the weekend requested by Donald Trump On Tuesday, it carried out its largest attack of the year so far, firing 450 drones and 71 missiles at Ukraine.
“It was a deliberate attack against energy infrastructure, involving a record number of ballistic missiles,” the Ukrainian president said.
“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).”
As of Tuesday morning, emergency power cuts were in effect in the Ukrainian capital after Russian forces again targeted power plants and energy infrastructure.
It comes after Ukraine and its western allies agreed that Russian violations of a future ceasefire agreement would be met with a military response by Europe before any involvement by the US, according to a report in the Financial Times.
Russia will not succumb to “provocations” and enter a new arms race after the New START nuclear treaty expires this week, deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov
Ryabkov, who leads Russian arms control, also said the modernisation of Russia’s nuclear triad – referring to ground, air and submarine-launched weapons – was at a very advanced stage, state news agency RIA reported.
Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha has shared footage of the aftermath of a Russian attack on a Ukrainian apartment building.
He has accused Russian forces of stockpiling drones as they waited for temperatures to drop, before carrying out mass air attacks.
“The temperature in Ukraine is below -20°C (-4°F). Overnight, Russia attacked with 450 drones and over 60 missiles, including ballistic ones,” he wrote on X.
“Primary targets: energy and residential houses in Kyiv, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Sumy, Odesa, and other regions. Putin waited for the temperatures to drop and stockpiled drones and missiles to continue his genocidal attacks against the Ukrainian people.”
Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Moscow of using a pause on strikes, requested by Donald Trump to stockpile missiles.
Russia exploited the US proposal to halt the strikes, rather than agreeing to it to support diplomacy efforts, he said.
“It was a deliberate attack against energy infrastructure, involving a record number of ballistic missiles,” he said.
“In fact, the Russian army exploited the U.S. 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).”
Moscow fired more than 70 missiles at Ukraine overnight, according to the air force, one of the largest totals since the war began. It also fired 450 drones.
We’ve heard more from Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who is now discussing the possibility of a nuclear arms deal between Russia and the US expiring this week.
Abandoning limits on the strategic nuclear arsenals of Russia and the US would be very bad for global security, he said.
The New START nuclear treaty between the two countries expires on Thursday.
Peskov said Moscow’s proposal to keep observing the treaty’s limits on missiles, launchers and warheads for another year was still on the table, but the US had yet to respond to it.
Russia attacked energy infrastructure across eight regions on the night of 2-3 February, first deputy prime minister and minister of energy Denys Shmyhal has said.
“Strikes were carried out using several types of ballistic and cruise missiles as well as drones, against high-rise buildings and combined heat and power plants – CHP plants and thermal power plants that were operating exclusively to heat districts in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Dnipro,” Mr Shmyhal said in an update.
Thousands have been left without heating in the freezing cold weather, he added.
The Kremlin has welcomed remarks by Fifa president Gianni Infantino who said Russia’s four-year ban from international soccer tournaments should be lifted after it has “achieved nothing”.
Russian clubs and the national team have been suspended from Fifa and Uefa competitions since the start of the war in Ukraine in February 2022.
Asked about Infantino’s comments, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said they were “very good” and that it had been a mistake to politicise sport.
Peskov said that Russia’s soccer team should now have its rights to compete completely restored.
Nato secretary general Mark Rutte has arrived in Kyiv where he will meet with Volodymyr Zelensky, a Financial Times correspondent said in a post on X.
Rutte’s reported visit comes after Russia attacked Ukraine with 450 drones and over 60 missiles overnight.
Russia and Ukraine said last week they halted strikes on each other’s energy infrastructure, but disagreed on the timeframe for the truce.
Russia is ready for the new reality of a world with no nuclear arms control limits after the New START treaty expires later this week, Russia’s point man for arms control said on Tuesday.
The Trump administration has been urged, including former president Barack Obama, to ensure the treaty is not allowed to expire.
Deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov also said that if the US pumped lots of missile defence systems onto Greenland, then Russia would have to take compensatory measures in its military sphere.
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