President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday he hopes Ukraine will sign agreements with the United States next week on a plan to end Russia’s invasion, while sharply criticising delays in ammunition deliveries from Western allies at a critical stage of the war.
Zelensky’s comments come as Donald Trump pushes for a halt to the nearly four-year conflict and urges Kyiv to accept peace terms that Ukrainian officials have warned could amount to capitulation to Moscow. While diplomatic engagement between Washington and Kyiv has intensified, major sticking points remain, particularly over the security guarantees Ukraine says are essential to deter any future Russian attack.
Speaking to reporters, Zelensky said Ukrainian negotiators were already en route to the United States for further talks aimed at finalising the framework of an agreement.
“We hope there will be more clarity both regarding the documents we have already effectively prepared with the American side and regarding Russia’s response to all the diplomatic work that is underway,” he said.
“If everything is finalised and if there is agreement from the American side — because on our side, in principle, I believe we’re done — then signing during Davos will be possible,” he added, referring to the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum next week.
Even as diplomacy gathers pace, Zelensky acknowledged mounting military and humanitarian challenges at home, conceding that Ukraine’s air defence network is under acute strain amid a surge in Russian attacks on energy infrastructure.
Some Western-supplied air defence systems had temporarily run out of missiles during recent barrages, he said, as Russia unleashed hundreds of drones and missiles that damaged power plants and substations across the country.
“Until this morning we had several systems without missiles. Today I can say this openly because today I have those missiles,” Zelensky told a press conference in Kyiv.
Ukraine says more than 15,000 energy workers are racing in sub-zero temperatures to restore electricity and heating, as parts of the country endure one of the harshest cold snaps of the winter, with temperatures plunging to minus 20 degrees Celsius. Millions of Ukrainians have faced prolonged blackouts, compounding humanitarian concerns during the freezing weather.
Zelensky has repeatedly urged allies to accelerate deliveries of air defence ammunition, stressing that advanced systems such as the US-made Patriot batteries are only effective if supplied with a steady flow of missiles.
“All of these units require constant supplies of missiles,” he said during a joint appearance with Czech President Petr Pavel, appealing to both European partners and the United States to step up assistance.
“We received a substantial package in the morning. It’s in Ukraine now and we can talk about it. But it comes at such cost — through effort, blood, people’s lives,” Zelensky added.
Russia, meanwhile, continues to press its offensive along the front line. Moscow said on Friday that its forces had captured two more villages in the eastern Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions, underscoring the pressure on Ukrainian troops even as cities far from the front are battered by long-range strikes.
Russian shelling also killed two people in the central industrial city of Nikopol, according to Ukrainian officials.
In Kyiv, authorities are still scrambling to manage one of the most severe and prolonged energy crises since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Traffic lights have gone dark in some districts, shops and restaurants have closed, and residents have gathered at state-run emergency hubs to warm up and charge mobile phones.
“Russia is betting that it can break us through energy terror,” Ukraine’s new energy minister, Denys Shmygal, told parliament on Friday.
Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said the country has fuel reserves sufficient for about 20 days, while the government has eased strict wartime curfews to allow people better access to heating and electricity centres. Shmygal also ordered state-owned companies to increase electricity imports from abroad in an effort to stabilise the grid.
As Ukraine balances urgent battlefield needs with high-stakes diplomacy, Zelensky’s message was clear: progress toward peace depends not only on negotiations, but on sustained military support to ensure the country can survive the winter and defend itself against continued Russian attacks.
