Kiev and Western allies have agreed on a multi-stage response plan in case Russia violates a peace treaty.
Ukraine’s Plan for Retaliation
Kiev discussed a response plan for a potential violation of the peace treaty with Russia with the West in December and January, the Financial Times reported. The plan, agreed upon with the European Union and the United States, involves a multi-stage response to renewed Russian attacks after a ceasefire. The first stage would be a diplomatic warning.
The second stage involves the participation of forces from a “coalition of the willing,” which includes EU countries, as well as Turkey, the United Kingdom, Iceland, and Norway. The retaliatory operation would also be supported by the United States, which is part of Ukraine’s security guarantees. It is unclear whether Western troops would be stationed on Ukrainian territory. Moscow has given its consent to such a solution. Vladimir Putin has stated that every Western soldier and military object will be treated as a threat to Russia.
Resumption of Negotiations in Abu Dhabi
The next trilateral meeting between delegations from Ukraine, Russia, and the USA is scheduled for February 4-5-6 in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskii announced the dates for the next talks. He assured that Ukraine is ready for substantive talks to bring about a real and dignified end to the war. The Ukrainian president’s press clarified that the dates for the next meetings were set during a telephone conversation with the Americans.
Moscow has also confirmed its participation in peace negotiations with Ukraine. Assessing the talks so far, the Kremlin stated that the conflicting parties have found “common ground” on many issues. It emphasized that Russia wants to discuss a peace plan, and regarding a summit of Ukrainian and Russian leaders, it reiterated that such a summit is only possible in Moscow. The White House announced that Steve Witkoff will travel to Israel before going to Abu Dhabi, where he will meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Russia’s Missile and Drone Attack
On the night from Monday to Tuesday (February 2-3), Russians attacked Ukraine with over 500 attack drones and more than 60 missiles of various types, according to preliminary estimates from Kiev authorities. The enemy attacked, among others, Kyiv and Kharkiv. Moscow thus broke the so-called energy ceasefire. There are power and heating outages in the Ukrainian capital and other cities. Experts estimate this to be the largest Russian air attack since the beginning of the year.
After a few days of respite, the Russians struck the energy infrastructure again at a critical moment, as the temperature in the capital dropped below -20 degrees Celsius. As a result of the attack, 1,170 buildings in Kyiv are without heating, most of them are residential buildings. Electricity was cut off in the left-bank part of the city. In Kharkiv, 820 buildings are without heating. The largest city’s combined heat and power plant was seriously damaged there. The Russians also attacked, among others, the Vinnytsia and Sumy regions. Ukrainian energy company DTEK stated that this was already the ninth massive Russian attack on Ukrainian thermal power plants since last October, i.e., since the start of the heating season.
