The China Mail - Zelensky hopes for security guarantees plan in looming US talks

US President Donald Trump has been pushing for a halt to the war and has pressured Ukraine to accept peace terms that Kyiv has likened to capitulation to Russia.

Key sticking points remain between Kyiv and Washington, and Ukraine has been seeking clarity from allies about what security guarantees it will receive as part of the plan, which it believes are vital to deter Russia from invading again.

Zelensky told reporters -- including from AFP -- that Ukrainian negotiators were on their way to the United States for more talks.

"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 added.

"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 World Economic Forum next week.

- Air defence depleted -

Zelensky also conceded problems with Ukrainian air defence systems at a critical moment in the war.

Some air defence systems supplied to Ukraine by Western allies had run out of ammunition amid a wave of Russian attacks that have devastated his country's energy infrastructure, he said.

Kyiv says more than 15,000 energy workers are racing in sub-zero temperatures to restore power plants and substations battered over recent days by hundreds of Russian drones and missiles.

Zelensky has repeatedly called on allies to beef up Ukraine's air defence systems to shield vital civilian infrastructure facilities from daily Russian bombardments.

"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.

The attacks have spurred urgent humanitarian concerns, with millions of Ukrainians suffering long periods without electricity and heating during a cold snap where temperatures have dropped to -20C in some parts of the country.

The Kremlin claims its forces only target military facilities.

When it has bombed Ukrainian power plants in previous years, it has blamed civilians' hardships on Kyiv and its refusal to accept Russian peace demands.

AFP journalists in Kyiv -- one of the worst hit cities -- have seen chaos at intersections where traffic lights are off, shops and restaurants closed, and residents warming up and charging phones in emergency tents set up by the state.

Ukraine relies on its Western partners for several vital advanced air defence systems -- including US-made Patriot batteries.

But Zelensky said during a press conference with Czech President Petr Pavel that all of those units "require constant supplies of missiles".

He urged both European allies and the United States to up deliveries.

"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," the Ukrainian leader added.

- Russia advances along front line -

After nearly four years of fighting, Russian forces are both pummelling Ukrainian cities and steadily advancing across the sprawling front line.

On Friday, Moscow said its forces captured two more villages in the eastern Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions.

Russian bombardments meanwhile killed two people in the central industrial city of Nikopol, local Ukrainian officials announced.

In Kyiv, the government is still scrambling to respond to one of the worst and most prolonged energy outages since Russia invaded.

"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 announced that the government had fuel reserves for 20 days.

Shmygal earlier on Friday ordered state companies to ratchet up their own electricity imports from abroad to help ease the load on consumers.

A.Zhang--ThChM