KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia bombarded Ukraine with more than 300 drones and ballistic and cruise missiles in its latest nighttime attack on the Ukrainian power grid, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday, as Moscow gives no public sign that it's willing to end the war on its neighbor anytime soon.
The attack knocked out heating to more than 5,600 apartment buildings in the capital, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. Nearly 80% of the affected buildings had recently had their heating supply restored after a major Russian barrage on Jan. 9 that plunged thousands of people into a dayslong blackout, he said.
Ukraine is enduring one of its coldest winters for years, with temperatures in Kyiv falling to -20 C (-4 F). At the same time, Russia has escalated its aerial attacks on the electricity supply, aiming to deny Ukrainians heat and running water and wear down their resistance almost four years after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials are trying to keep up the momentum of U.S.-led peace talks. A Ukrainian negotiating team arrived in the United States on Saturday. Their main task was to convey how the relentless Russian strikes are undermining diplomacy, according to Zelenskyy.
The Ukrainian leader said last week that the delegation would also try to finalize with U.S. officials documents for a proposed peace settlement that relate to postwar security guarantees and economic recovery. If American officials approve the proposals, the U.S. and Ukraine could sign the documents at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, this week, he said.
Ukraine’s air force command said that 27 missiles and 315 drones were shot down or jammed, while five missiles and 24 drones hit 11 locations.
The constant attacks have stretched Ukraine’s air defenses and, according to Zelenskyy, some systems recently ran out of ammunition before a new shipment arrived.
He said late Monday that air defenses are adopting a new approach, with the appointment of a new deputy air force commander, Pavlo Yelizarov.
“This system will be transformed,” he said, without providing details.
Ukraine relies on sophisticated air defense systems produced by Western countries, especially the U.S., to thwart Russia’s missile and drone attacks.
Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
In this photo provided by Ukraine's 24th Mechanized Brigade press service, servicemen fire a 2S1 Gvozdika self propelled howitzer towards Russian positions near Chasiv Yar town, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (Oleg Petrasiuk/Ukraine's 24th Mechanized Brigade via AP)
People take shelter in a subway station during Russia's night missile and drone attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)
In this photo provided by Ukraine's 24th Mechanized Brigade press service, servicemen fire a 2S1 Gvozdika self propelled howitzer towards Russian positions near Chasiv Yar town, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (Oleg Petrasiuk/Ukraine's 24th Mechanized Brigade via AP)
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Families of Venezuelan prisoners on Tuesday demanded the release of nearly 800 imprisoned critics, journalists and members of the opposition still detained in the South American nation.
The call came after family members waited two weeks outside of prisons following the government's announcement that it would release a “significant number” of prisoners detained under Nicolás Maduro. The former president was deposed in early January in an overnight U.S. military raid.
In the wake of criticism that the government had only released a handful of people, acting President Delcy Rodríguez last week vowed to continue releasing prisoners.
Rodríguez called it “a new political moment” for Venezuela.
Despite that, Venezuelans like Francis Quiñones say they feel the same turmoil that families of prisoners have felt for years. While much of Venezuela has started to move on from the chaos of just a few weeks earlier, people like her are stuck in limbo.
Groups of families have spent two weeks camped out outside a Caracas prison known as Helicoide, which activist groups said holds a number of government opponents. Quiñones, whose son has been detained for more than five years, said she hasn't been able to speak to him in more than six months. But she holds onto hope that they may be reunited.
“Here we are waiting. ... Every day, we're out here outside the Helicoide,” she said. “(The government) is killing us psychologically.”
As of Tuesday, Venezuela’s leading prisoner rights organization, Foro Penal, had verified the release of 145 people it considers “political prisoners.” Around 775 more remain in detention, according to the organization’s leader, Alfredo Romero.
Romero said that those who have been released may not be locked up anymore, but they're far from free. Most released face government restrictions, including gag orders on speaking to the media and mandatory check-ins with authorities, he said. Others are blocked from leaving the country.
“These people are not free,” Romero said. “They are subjected to constant, latent persecution.”
In Caracas, a row of tents lines the curb where relatives display posters of the missing. Over the weekend, families clustered together, embracing as they lit candles in a vigil.
Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
Maria Soledad Osorio, whose son Simon Chacon is detained at a different facility, camps outside the Zona 7 detention center of the Bolivarian National Police in solidarity with the relatives of other detainees in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
Relatives wait outside Zone 7 of the Bolivarian National Police station for news of loved ones they say were detained and have not heard from in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
Relatives and human rights activists rally outside the Attorney General's Office in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026, calling for the release of people they consider to be detained for political reasons. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
Relatives and human rights activists rally outside the Attorney General's Office in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026, calling for the release of people they consider to be detained for political reasons. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
Relatives of detainees and human rights activists rally outside the Attorney General's Office in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026, calling for the release of people they consider to be detained for political reasons. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
