Ukraine’s President has temporarily changed his plans to travel to the World Economic Forum due to the Russian attack on the Ukrainian energy sector on the night of January 20. Zelensky is still in Ukraine to coordinate the work of the operational headquarters to resolve the emergency situation.
Pro-Kremlin media outlets have spread disinformation about the Ukrainian delegation participating in the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Russian propaganda claims that the organizers of the forum allegedly canceled the speech of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, which is why the Ukrainian leader then “canceled the trip” to Switzerland and stayed in Kyiv: “the head of the Kyiv regime was deemed an obstacle to the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict,” the propaganda writes.
The annual World Economic Forum (WEF) will be held in Switzerland on January 19-23, 2026. The event will bring together almost 3,000 politicians, diplomats, business and scientific representatives from over 130 countries. However, on the morning of January 20, news began to spread in influential international sources that, against the backdrop of another massive missile and drone strike by the Russian occupiers on critical infrastructure, Volodymyr Zelensky decided to temporarily postpone his trip to Davos, Switzerland.
Already at noon on January 20, the Ukrainian president personally confirmed this information. Volodymyr Zelensky noted that he had changed his plans and was still staying in Ukraine to coordinate the work of the operational headquarters to resolve the emergency situation in the country’s energy sector. The president said that he had already held a number of meetings to eliminate the consequences of the Russian attack, and on the evening of January 20, he had another meeting scheduled regarding the restoration of energy and heat supply in Ukraine.
“I held relevant consultations with the energy headquarters, as well as online and offline meetings. This is a priority. Of course, I choose Ukraine, not the economic forum,” Zelensky said during a conversation with journalists.
At the same time, Zelensky stressed that the situation can change quickly and he does not rule out the possibility of a trip to Davos.
“Everything can change every minute, because it is important to end this war. Both the prosperity plan and security guarantees are very important documents… If the documents are ready, we will have a meeting and a trip. If there are energy packages or additional decisions on air defense, I will definitely go. But for now I have challenges in Ukraine. We will see while I am there,” Zelensky concluded.
On the night of January 20, 2026, the Russian occupiers attacked Ukraine with one Zircon anti-ship missile, 18 Iskander-M/S-300 ballistic missiles, 15 Kh-101 cruise missiles, as well as 339 strike UAVs. The Ukrainian Air Defense Forces shot down 27 missiles and 315 drones. As a result of the strike, damage was recorded to residential buildings and transport in a number of regions. There are casualties among the civilian population.
Moreover, as a result of the Russian attack, the Chernobyl NPP lost all external power supply. Power lines of other Ukrainian nuclear power plants were also damaged, the IAEA reported.
Residents of Kharkiv, Odessa, Dnipro, Zaporizhia and other Ukrainian regions were left without electricity and heating in sub-zero temperatures. The situation is difficult in Kyiv, where almost half of the houses – 5,635 high-rise buildings – were left without heating and electricity. Approximately 80% of them are houses to which the heat supply was only just restored after the last barbaric attack on January 9, 2026. You can read more about this Russian strike in the article Fake: The “Power” of the Russian Oreshnik Caused an Earthquake in the Lviv Region.
We also refuted a similar narrative in the StopFake story Manipulation: To Stop Attacks on the Energy Sector, Ukrainians Are Ready to Give Up Donbas.
