Drone tech boosts efficiency

The Government launched the first batch of low-altitude economy (LAE) Regulatory Sandbox pilot projects in March and these projects are being rolled out progressively.

Greater efficiency: The application of drone inspections significantly improves the efficiency of inspecting overheads lines and towers.

Drone drill

Under the framework of the sandbox pilot projects, CLP Power’s drone team began a beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) pilot scheme to inspect overhead lines at a test site in Sai Wan in Sai Kung.

CLP Power Principal Manager - Logistics & Transport Edward Chan said under the LAE Regulatory Sandbox pilot projects, the Civil Aviation Department (CAD) has relaxed the existing restriction on BVLOS operations to allow a drone to fly beyond a pilot's line of sight.

“We submitted four inspection routes to the Government, covering overhead line facilities in some sparsely populated areas and also urban districts.

“In April, we began the BVLOS operation in one of the pilot sites, which is in Sai Wan of Sai Kung. We carried out a test flight under different scenarios, including manual operation by remote pilots and also automated inspection of our outdoor power facilities. Although Sai Wan is relatively remote, but the signal reception during the trial was smooth.”

Smart inspection: With the use of beyond-visual-line-of-sight operations, engineering staff can quickly assess the equipment and components in remote or hazardous areas under inclement weather conditions.

Safety first

The company has an extensive power transmission and high-voltage distribution network. Overhead lines are in particular more vulnerable to extreme weather and environmental conditions.

In view of increasing extreme weather events, the company has stepped up drone inspections of outdoor power facilities to ensure a stable power supply.

Mr Chan explained that most of the company’s outdoor transmission lines and towers are located in remote areas. Each team of engineering staff used to carry out inspections by patrols, covering an average of only around 5km a day, but with the use of drones, they expect a more than four-fold increase in the efficiency of inspections.

“For emergencies and severe weather conditions, BVLOS operations are particularly crucial because a fallen tree, landslides or road blockages might prevent our engineering staff from reaching the affected area.

“With the use of BVLOS operations, our engineering staff can operate drones from a safe location, quickly assess the equipment and components in remote areas and hazardous areas, so it can significantly improve the efficiency of maintenance work and also reduce the impact on customers.”

Efficiency boost: CLP Power Principal Manager - Logistics & Transport Edward Chan says they expect the pilot project to bring a more than four-fold increase in the efficiency of inspections.

Law change

To promote the development of Hong Kong's low-altitude economy, the Government has started work in various areas, including legislative amendments.

CAD Operations Officer Nicole Law noted that to tap into the potential of heavier small unmanned aircraft (SUA) the Government is now working to amend the current SUA Order to add a new Category C aircraft to cover unmanned aircraft weighing more than 25kg but not more than 150kg.

“At the same time, provisions will be introduced in the Air Navigation (Hong Kong) Order 1995 to facilitate the trials of various unconventional aircraft in Hong Kong, such as unmanned aircraft weighing over 150kg, so that the emerging technologies for LAE can be trialled under specified conditions, provided that aviation safety requirements are met.”

The amendments to the Small Unmanned Aircraft Order and the Air Navigation (Hong Kong) Order 1995 were published in the Gazette on May 23 and the legislative amendment proposals were tabled in the Legislative Council on May 28. It is expected that both amendments will come into effect in mid-July 2025, she added.

Legal facilitation: Civil Aviation Department Operations Officer Nicole Law says amendments to the Small Unmanned Aircraft Order and the Air Navigation (Hong Kong) Order 1995 are expected to come into effect in mid-July 2025.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday that President Vladimir Putin has agreed not to target the Ukrainian capital and other towns for one week as the region experiences frigid temperatures. There was no immediate confirmation from the Kremlin that Putin has agreed to such a pause.

Russia has been pounding Ukraine's critical infrastructure, hoping to wear down public resistance to the war while leaving many around the country having to endure the dead of winter without heat.

“I personally asked President Putin not to fire on Kyiv and the cities and towns for a week during this ... extraordinary cold,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting at the White House, adding that Putin has “agreed to that."

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was asked earlier Thursday whether a mutual halt on strikes on energy facilities was being discussed between Russia and Ukraine, and he refused to comment on the issue.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy late Wednesday had warned that Moscow was planning another large-scale barrage despite plans for further U.S.-brokered peace talks at the weekend.

Trump said he was pleased that Putin has agreed to the pause. Kyiv, which has grappled with severe power shortages this winter, is forecast to enter a brutally cold stretch starting Friday that is expected to last into next week. Temperatures in some areas will drop to minus 30 degrees Celsius (minus 22 Fahrenheit), the State Emergency Service warned.

“A lot of people said, ‘Don’t waste the call. You’re not going to get that.’” the Republican U.S. president said of his request of Putin. “And he did it. And we’re very happy that they did it.”

Zelenskyy, for his part, thanked Trump for his effort and welcomed the “possibility” of a pause in Russian military action on Kyiv and beyond. “Power supply is a foundation of life,” Zelenskyy said in his social media post.

Trump did not say when the call with Putin took place or when the ceasefire would go into effect. The White House did not immediately respond to a query seeking clarity about the scope and timing of the limited pause in the nearly four-year war.

Russia has sought to deny Ukrainian civilians heat and running water over the course of the war, which began with Russia's full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022. Ukrainian officials describe the strategy as “weaponizing winter.”

Last year was the deadliest for civilians in Ukraine since 2022 as Russia intensified its aerial barrages behind the front line, according to the U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission in the country.

The war killed 2,514 civilians and injured 12,142 in Ukraine — 31% higher than in 2024, it said.

A Russian drone attack killed three people in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region overnight and caused a major blaze in an apartment building, officials said Thursday.

Firefighters also worked through the night to put out fires in the central Dnipropetrovsk region, where two people were injured, officials said.

Zelenskyy said Ukrainian intelligence reports indicate Russia is assembling forces for a major aerial attack. Previous large attacks, sometimes involving more than 800 drones as well as cruise and ballistic missiles, have targeted the Ukrainian power grid.

The ongoing attacks discredit the peace talks, Zelenskyy said. “Every single Russian strike does,” he said late Wednesday.

Russia’s daily bombardment of civilian areas behind the roughly 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line has continued despite international condemnation and attempts to end the fighting.

Ukraine is working with SpaceX to address the reported use of its Starlink satellite service by Russian attack drones, Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said Thursday on the Telegram messaging app.

He said his team contacted the American aerospace company run by Elon Musk and “proposed ways to resolve the issue.” Starlink is a global internet network that relies on around 10,000 satellites orbiting Earth.

Fedorov thanked Musk and SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell for their “swift response and the start of work on resolving the situation.”

Musk and SpaceX have sought to steer a delicate course in the war.

Shotwell said a year after the invasion that SpaceX was happy to provide Ukrainians with connectivity “and help them in their fight for freedom.” At the same time, the company sought to restrict Ukraine’s use of Starlink for military purposes, she said.

Negotiations between the two sides are poised to resume on Sunday amid doubts about Moscow’s commitment to a settlement.

The European Union’s top diplomat accused Russia of not taking the talks seriously, calling Thursday in Brussels for more pressure to be exerted on Moscow to press it into making concessions.

“We see them increasing their attacks on Ukraine because they can’t make moves on the battlefield. So, they are attacking civilians,” Kaja Kallas said of Russia at a meeting of EU foreign ministers.

She stressed that Europe, which sees its own future security at stake in Ukraine, must be fully involved in talks to end the war. The push for a settlement has been led over the past year by the Trump administration, and European leaders fear their concerns may not be taken into account.

Steve Witkoff, Trump's special envoy, said Thursday “a lot of progress” was made in recent three-way talks and expressed optimism that more headway can be made when the parties meet again in the coming days.

“I think the people of Ukraine are now hopeful and expecting that we are going to deliver a peace deal sometime soon,” Witkoff added.

The number of soldiers killed, injured or missing on both sides during the war could reach 2 million by spring, with Russia sustaining the largest number of troop deaths for any major power in any conflict since World War II, according to an international think tank report published Tuesday.

Madhani reported from Washington. Kamila Hrabchuk in Kyiv, Ukraine, and Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed to this report.

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

President Donald Trump speaks as Secretary of State Marco Rubio listens during a cabinet meeting at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire following a Russian attack in Odesa region, Ukraine, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire following a Russian attack in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)