1 million without water, heat after Russian strike – DW – 01/08/2026

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Thursday.

The two leaders reiterated that security guarantees for Ukraine must ensure that Russia is never able to invade again, according to a Downing Street spokeswoman.

“Both leaders welcomed the strong commitments by all participants in Paris,” the spokeswoman said, referring to Tuesday’s meeting of the Coalition of the Willing.

“It was vital that the security ‍guarantees for Ukraine ensured Russia was never able to invade again, the leaders reiterated,” she added.

A Downing Street spokeswoman said that Starmer also spoke with US President Donald Trump about Euro-Atlantic security and the need to deter an increasingly aggressive Russia in the Arctic region.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned that another massive Russian attack could happen on Thursday.

He urged Ukrainians to pay attention to air raid alerts and to go to shelters when necessary.

“The Russians haven’t changed one bit. They are trying to exploit the harsh winter weather, which has worsened significantly across many of our regions and is causing serious problems on the roads and with utilities,” Zelenskyy wrote on X.

The Ukrainian president emphasized that Russia is now relying more on winter than on diplomacy. “This must change — through pressure on Russia and continued support for Ukraine,” he added.

Meanwhile, the US Embassy in Ukraine issued a security alert warning of the possibility of a significant air attack occurring “at any time over the next several days.”

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that he does not feel pressured by the timeline of the discussion about security guarantees for Ukraine.

Speaking at a meeting of the CSU, the Bavarian sister party of his conservative CDU, the chancellor pointed out that a long-term agreement with Russia must come first. “We are probably still quite far from Russia agreeing to such an agreement,” he said.

The agreement by the so-called Coalition of the Willing in Paris on security guarantees for Ukraine sparked a debate in Germany about the possible deployment of soldiers from Germany’s armed forces (known as the “Bundeswehr”).

Merz said he wanted to make it clear that this would not involve EU soldiers intervening in the ongoing war. “We are talking about security guarantees after a ceasefire,” he said, adding that no one is suggesting that soldiers should be sent to Ukraine now.

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The chancellor also stressed that he wants to make a final decision on a possible Bundeswehr deployment to protect Ukraine only after a ceasefire is in place and in agreement with the SPD, the CDU’s coalition partner.

This would require a decision by the federal government and, if necessary, the Bundestag’s approval, Merz added.

French President Emmanuel Macron says researcher Laurent Vinatier is back in France after he was released from prison in Russia.

In a social media post, Macron said he shared “the relief felt by his family and loved ones” at having Vinatier back.

The Frenchman was freed in a prisoner swap between Paris and Moscow, which also saw the return of Russian basketball player Daniil Kasatkin to Russia (See previous blog entry).

Russia has released Laurent Vinatier, a French researcher sentenced in 2024 to three years in prison for violating the country’s “foreign agent” laws, Russian state media reported Thursday, citing the FSB security service.

According to the report, Vinatier was pardoned by President Vladimir Putin.

In return, France freed Russian basketball player Daniil Kasatkin, who had been held since June at the request of the United States over alleged hacking charges. Kasatkin flew back to Moscow on Thursday.

Vinatier, who works for a Swiss conflict mediation NGO, was also facing fresh allegations of spying that could have seen him sentenced to an additional 20 years in prison.

His family had said he was a victim of tensions between Moscow and Paris over the war in Ukraine.

Western countries have long accused Russia of detaining foreign citizens as bargaining chips to secure the release of alleged Russian spies and cybercriminals jailed in Europe and the United States.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said Europe must increase the cost of the war in Ukraine to pressure Russia into agreeing to a ceasefire.

He was speaking at a meeting of his conservative CDU’s sister party, the CSU.

“A ceasefire ‌is still not on the agenda, quite ‍obviously because Russia does not ​want ​it,” Merz said.

“We will therefore have to continue ​to raise the price of this war — Russia must ​realize that there is ‌no ‌point in continuing it,” he added.

Russia rejected plans to deploy a Western peacekeeping force in Ukraine if a peace deal is reached. 

On Tuesday, the United Kingdom and France signed a declaration of intent on deploying troops in Ukraine in case of a ceasefire.

It was part of the security guarantees that Western leaders agreed to for Kyiv.

“All such units and facilities will be considered legitimate military targets for the Russian Armed Forces,” Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement.

Moscow has repeatedly opposed NATO members sending troops to Ukraine, calling the proposals dangerous and destructive.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said strikes on energy infrastructure in Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhya highlight the need for Kyiv’s allies to maintain supplies of air defense systems and equipment.

“Diplomatic discussions cannot be a pretext for slowing down the supply of air defense systems and equipment that helps protect lives,” he wrote on social media.

Zelenskyy said there was no “military rationale in such strikes,” calling it a Russian “attempt to break Ukraine.”

Ukraine has been fending off Russia’s full-scale invasion for nearly four years with Western backing.

Kyiv is constantly pressing its international partners for the delivery of further air defence systems.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia’s war in Ukraine could end by mid-2026.

Speaking in Cyprus, currently holding the EU presidency, he urged allies on Wednesday to increase pressure on Russia with tougher sanctions.

He also said no extra demands should be placed on Kyiv in peace talks.

“We are doing everything required on our side in the negotiation process. And we expect that no additional or excessive demands will be placed on Ukraine,” he said.

Kyiv faces US pressure to end the war but insists on security guarantees and rejects Russian demands to cede Donetsk and relinquish control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant.

Earlier this week, talks in Paris produced pledges of support, including a possible multinational troop presence after a peace agreement.

But Zelenskyy warned those promises must become legally binding commitments approved by national parliaments.

He also said he wanted another meeting with US President Donald 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.

Russian strikes have knocked out power almost entirely in two regions of southeastern Ukraine.

The Energy Ministry says Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia are without electricity, and critical infrastructure is running on reserve power.

Hospitals and essential services are relying on backup systems, while emergency crews work through the night to restore electricity, water, and heating.

“Repair work continues in Dnipropetrovsk region to restore heat and water supply for over a million subscribers,” Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba wrote on social media.

The power had been restored to the ​other ​affected region Zaporizhzhia.

The Ukrainian air force said Russia attacked with 97 drones, with 70 downed by air defense system but 27 striking various locations, without elaborating.

Imagine waking up to temperatures well below zero, with no electricity or running water.

That’s the reality for more than a million people in Ukraine’s southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region this morning.

Ukraine’s energy ministry says Russian strikes late Wednesday targeted critical energy infrastructure.

All this comes as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and top Ukrainian, US, and European officials have spent weeks engaged in high-stakes shuttle diplomacy to end the war, despite few signs that Russia is willing to accept any deal short of its maximalist demands.