Ukraine sends delegation to U.S. for security and recovery talks, eyes Davos signing amid energy crisis
A Ukrainian delegation is en route to the United States for talks on security guarantees and a post-war recovery package, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, adding that Kyiv hopes to sign documents on the sidelines of next week’s World Economic Forum in Davos.
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Speaking in Kyiv alongside Czech President Petr Pavel, Zelensky said Ukraine also seeks clarity from Washington on Russia’s posture toward U.S.-backed diplomatic efforts to end the war. “I think we have worked well with the American side, we are just not on the same side on some issues,” he said, adding: “Ultimatums are not, in my view, a workable model for democratic relations between countries.”
U.S. President Donald Trump said earlier this week he may meet with Zelensky at the WEF, a session the Ukrainian leader has publicly sought. Trump also asserted Wednesday that Russia is ready for a peace deal and cast Zelensky as an obstacle, a characterization at odds with many European allies. Zelensky countered that Moscow is stalling and pointed to recent strikes on Ukraine’s power system as evidence. “Each of these strikes against our energy sector and our cities quite clearly shows Russia’s real interests and intentions: they are not interested in agreements, but in the further destruction of Ukraine,” he posted on social media after the news conference.
Zelensky said Kyiv has completed its work on a “prosperity package” aimed at unlocking funds for post-war reconstruction and on U.S. security guarantees intended to deter future Russian aggression. Ukrainian officials have estimated the country will need about $800 billion (€688 billion) to rebuild.
The president also pressed for more air defense ammunition to shield the grid from ongoing missile and drone attacks. He said that until a new aid shipment arrived Thursday morning, several air defense systems were left without missiles. “We need to fight for these [aid] packages with blood, with people’s lives,” he told reporters.
The humanitarian stakes are rising as winter deepens and the war on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure intensifies. International aid agencies warned that children across the country risk hypothermia as stocks of generators and other emergency supplies run low. The U.N. children’s agency, UNICEF, said it is racing to help restore heating and water services damaged by strikes as the full-scale invasion nears its fourth anniversary.
“Children and families are in constant survival mode,” UNICEF Country Representative for Ukraine Munir Mammadzade told reporters in Geneva, noting nighttime temperatures around minus 18 Celsius (0 Fahrenheit) in some areas. UNICEF said some families have been stuffing windows with soft toys to block out the cold.
Kyiv and frontline regions face the harshest conditions. Authorities report thousands of homes in the capital, as well as in the Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv and Odesa regions and towns near the front, have gone days without electricity or heat. “Without heat, people are at high risk for hypothermia, frostbite and respiratory illnesses,” said Jaime Wah, deputy head of delegation in Kyiv for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, adding that unpredictable power cuts disrupt water supplies and health care. Some families in Kyiv are weighing whether to leave the city, Wah said.
UNICEF said it is deploying high-capacity generators to support heating and water at hospitals and schools, but appealed for additional funding to meet the growing need. Zelensky this week said he would declare a state of emergency in the energy sector, while Ukrainian officials said the country has fuel reserves for more than 20 days.
As Kyiv’s delegation heads to Washington and international leaders converge on Davos, the twin tracks of war diplomacy and wartime resilience are set to collide. Any movement toward security guarantees or a reconstruction framework would mark a significant step for Ukraine, but the immediate imperative remains keeping the lights and heat on as missiles continue to fall.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
