KYIV – As the harsh winter continues to grip Ukraine, a delegation from the country has traveled to the United States, engaging in discussions aimed at resolving the protracted conflict that has lasted nearly four years. This diplomatic initiative comes amid renewed Russian assaults targeting Ukraine’s power infrastructure, leaving many without electricity and heating in the freezing cold.

Kyrylo Budanov, who serves as the chief of staff for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, announced his arrival in the U.S. to negotiate the specifics of a potential peace agreement.

In a message shared on the Telegram platform, Budanov revealed that he, along with Ukrainian negotiators Rustem Umerov and Davyd Arakhamia, is scheduled to meet with key figures, including U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner—son-in-law of former President Donald Trump—and U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll.

On Friday, Zelenskyy expressed that the delegation’s objective is to work with U.S. representatives to finalize documents concerning a proposed peace settlement. These documents focus on postwar security assurances and the economic recovery of Ukraine.

Should U.S. officials give the green light to these proposals, Zelenskyy indicated that both nations might sign the agreements as early as next week during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. This statement was made during a press briefing in Kyiv alongside Czech President Petr Pavel.

Trump plans to be in Davos, according to organizers.

Russia would still need to be consulted on the proposals.

Russia struck energy infrastructure in Ukraine’s Kyiv and Odesa regions overnight into Saturday, the Ministry of Energy said. More than 20 settlements in the Kyiv region were left without power following the attacks, the ministry wrote on its official Telegram channel.

Russia has hammered Ukraine’s power grid, especially in winter, throughout the war. It aims to weaken the Ukrainian will to resist in a strategy that Kyiv officials call “weaponizing winter.”

Ukraine’s new energy minister, Denys Shmyhal, said Friday that Russia had conducted 612 attacks on energy targets over last year. That barrage has intensified in recent months as nighttime temperatures plunge to minus 18 degrees Celsius (0 Fahrenheit).

Ukraine has introduced emergency measures, including temporarily easing curfew restrictions to allow people to go whenever they need to public heating centers set up by the authorities, Shmyhal said. He said hospitals, schools and other critical infrastructure remain the top priority for electricity and heat supplies.

Officials have instructed state energy companies Ukrzaliznytsia, Naftogaz and Ukroboronprom to urgently purchase imported electricity covering at least 50% of their own consumption, according to Shmyhal.

___

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine