Ukraine-Russia war latest: Zelensky suggests peace talks planned for Sunday are postponed

Ukraine is receiving two lorries worth of potatoes after Berlin experienced a bumper harvest year with its biggest crop in more than two decades. 

The phenomenon has inspired a potato dump in Berlin, as farmers, not wanting their produce to go to waste, have given away their potatoes away to soup kitchens, schools, churches, and the public. 

Two lorries worth of spuds have also been delivered to Ukraine.

It comes as the country experiences a brutal winter, with temperatures in some areas dropping to -30C.

Russia has been repeatedly targeting Ukraine’s energy grid, leaving thousands of Ukrainians without power or food.

The British Ministry of Defence shared its latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine on Friday:

Ukraine is investigating a “technical incident” on its energy grid after two lines between Romania and Moldova, as well as lines in Ukraine, stopped operating.

“As of now, there is no confirmation of external interference or a cyberattack,” Volodymyr Zelensky said.

“Most indications point to weather: ice buildup on the lines and automatic shutdowns.”

Earlier, Ukraine’s energy minister Denys Shmyhal blamed a technical malfunction for the outages.

Donald Trump said on Thursday that Vladimir Putin had agreed to a brief ceasefire on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, which would protect the country from a time of “extraordinarily cold” weather.

The Kremlin said the ceasefire would end on Sunday.

The number of soldiers killed, injured or missing on both sides of Russia’s war on Ukraine could hit two million by the spring, a report has warned.

It would mean Moscow suffering the largest number of troop deaths recorded for any major power in any conflict since the Second World War.

The study by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies revealed the slow, deadly grind of the conflict, and comes before the fourth anniversary of Putin full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February.

The report said Russia suffered 1.2 million casualties, including up to 325,000 troop deaths, between February 2022 and December 2025.

“No major power has suffered anywhere near these numbers of casualties or fatalities in any war since World War II,” the authors said.

It estimated that Ukraine, with its smaller army and population, had suffered between 500,000 to 600,000 military casualties, including up to 140,000 deaths.

Kyiv is forecast to enter a brutally cold stretch starting that is expected to last into next week.

Temperatures in some areas will drop to -30C, the State Emergency Service said.

Russia has sought to deny Ukrainian civilians heat, light and running water over the course of the war, in a strategy that Ukrainian officials describe as “weaponizing winter.”

The possibility of a respite in energy sector attacks was discussed at last weekend’s meeting in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, between envoys of Ukraine, Russia and the United States, Zelenskyy said.

Zelenskyy said that he had agreed to adhere to a “reciprocal approach” on energy assaults.

“If Russia does not strike us, we will … take corresponding steps,” he told reporters.

Volodymyr Zelensky has suggested that three-way peace talks set to take place in the UAE tomorrow will now take place next week.

In his nightly video address, President Zelensky said he was waiting for more information from the US about further peace talks and expected new meetings to take place next week.

“We are in constant communication with the American side and are expecting specific details from them regarding further meetings.

“We are counting on meetings next week and are preparing for them.”

Ukraine’s president has said earlier that talks could be delayed due to the ongoing tensions between the US and Iran.

The concession he will, no doubt, demand is that Kyiv give in to the Kremlin’s demands to hand over his most potent defensive lines and fortress cities without a shot being fired in return for a longer “ceasefire”.

US negotiators have been trying to get Volodymyr Zelensky to agree to cede all of Donetsk and most of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson provinces as a reward for Russia’s bloody invasion that has, by many estimates, cost the country 1.2 million casualties.

The power outages come amid mounting concerns among US and European officials over hundreds of millions of dollars in American energy assistance for Ukraine that remain unreleased.

The aid was originally intended to help Ukraine import liquefied natural gas and rebuild infrastructure damaged by Russian strikes, say sources including a US and a Ukrainian official.

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) had notified Congress during the Biden administration of its intention to disburse some funds.

Yet, after USAID was effectively shuttered in the initial weeks of the Trump administration, some money fell into what sources described as “bureaucratic limbo.”