The Kremlin on Thursday claimed Ukraine is rapidly “running out of options” to end the war, as Kyiv confronts its most severe energy and heating crisis in Russia’s full-scale invasion after sustained Russian strikes on infrastructure.
Speaking to reporters, including AFP, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the situation for Ukraine is worsening by the day and claimed that Kyiv’s room for maneuver is shrinking.
“The situation is deteriorating day by day for the Kyiv regime,” Peskov said, adding that Ukraine’s “corridor for decision-making is narrowing.”
With temperatures plunging to -17°C (1.4°F), waves of Russian missile and drone attacks have left parts of the capital without heat, pushing the city to the brink of a system-wide breakdown.
According to Oleksandr Kharchenko, director of Ukraine’s Energy Research Center, the conditions Kyiv now faces are without global precedent.
“Attacks on energy infrastructure at -15°C [5°F] in a city dependent on centralized heating are unprecedented anywhere in the world,” Kharchenko said.
Kyiv narrowly avoided a critical collapse in recent days after power outages temporarily left an estimated 60% to 70% of the city without heating, he added,
As the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion approaches on Feb. 24, Moscow has shown no sign of backing away from its core demands – including the seizure of additional Ukrainian territory.
Peskov urged President Volodymyr Zelensky to make what he called an “appropriate decision,” remarks widely seen as pressuring Kyiv to accept Russia’s terms.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has demanded Ukraine withdraw from large swathes of eastern and southern territory as a precondition for a ceasefire – conditions Kyiv has repeatedly rejected as tantamount to capitulation.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has expressed frustration with both sides, with months of diplomacy failing to produce a breakthrough.
Zelensky has said Ukrainian, US and European negotiators agreed on a revised 20-point framework to end the war, scaled back from an earlier US proposal that Kyiv said heavily favored Moscow. The Kremlin has rejected any adjustments.
Moscow said dialogue with Washington continues but warned that proposals by the UK and France to deploy troops to Ukraine after a ceasefire would make them “legitimate targets.”