4 questions and answers Cassis in the Kremlin, Trump's big show - but Ukraine continues to freeze
Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis wants to revive the old OSCE in Kiev and Moscow, which acted as a mediator between East and West during the Cold War. What is Switzerland's position in Ukraine and Russia? How are the peace talks - and the war - progressing? Here are the answers.
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- What is Cassis doing in Eastern Europe? The Ticino native wants to involve the OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) in the peace process as its chairman in Kiev and Moscow.
- What is Switzerland's position in Kiev and Moscow? Cassis has received a friendly reception in Ukraine, while the Kremlin is emphatically critical.
- What are the peace efforts actually doing? Donald Trump is announcing things that obviously don't correspond to reality.
- How is the war currently progressing? These were the focal points of the Russian attacks in January - maps included.
What is Cassis doing in Eastern Europe?
Ignazio Cassis needs warm clothes right now. The Foreign Minister is currently traveling in Kiev, where it is minus 6 degrees and colder during the day, while at night it is an icy minus 18 degrees, making the night a torture if the heating fails.
In his role as Chairman of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Cassis is on a trip with Secretary General Feridun Sinirlioğlu that will take him to Moscow on Friday. The aim is to explore how the OSCE could support a ceasefire or a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine.
Ignazio Cassis posted this picture after his arrival in Kiev:
Cassis already announced at the WEF in Davos that he wanted to take on a mediating role in the war in Ukraine as Chairman of the OSCE. The Ticino native clearly wants to build on an earlier tradition: the OSCE was an important instrument for understanding between East and West during the Cold War.
What is Switzerland's position in Kiev and Moscow?
Ignazio Cassis has big plans for Eastern Europe. In Kiev, President Volodymyr Zelensky tells him about the massive air raids on bitterly cold nights. "I hope that you, Ignazio, and the OSCE will do everything possible to support Ukraine and the Ukrainian people," his office quotes him as saying.
While Zelenskyi also expressly thanks Switzerland for its efforts, Russia, on the other hand, criticizes Cassis' closeness to Kiev.
Cassis knows this only too well: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov even accused Switzerland of pursuing an "unfriendly policy" at his last meeting with Cassis, according to the Russian state news agency Tass.
«Switzerland has lost its status as a respected neutral mediator»
Russia is bothered by the fact that Switzerland has adopted Western sanctions, Lavrov told Cassis in July 2024, explaining the Kremlin's stance. However, the accusation that Switzerland is no longer neutral is older: such criticism was first voiced in Moscow's Foreign Ministry in February 2023.
What are the peace efforts actually doing?
Extremely contradictory signals are coming from the USA with regard to peace efforts. On February 2, 2026, for example, Donald Trump stated according to CNN that he was backing down on bilateral tariffs because India had agreed to stop buying Russian oil.
According to NDTV, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov commented on this surprising news as follows: "So far, we have not heard any statement from New Delhi on this matter." NDTV points out that India is still buying 1.5 million barrels of oil from Russia every day, even though Trump has imposed a 25 percent tariff on the country.
Trump also announced that Vladimir Putin had agreed to limit air strikes on Ukraine due to the cold weather. In reality, however, Russia was simply saving ammunition for a short time in order to attack Kiev and its energy supply all the harder as the nights became even frostier.
Against this backdrop, negotiations between Kiev and Moscow are currently taking place in Abu Dhabi under American auspices. Ukraine was hoping for a response from Washington to the Russian attacks, but Trump does not want to blame Putin.
How is the war currently progressing?
The pro-Ukrainian Telegram channel DeepState analyzes data from January that shows The cold snap over Eastern Europe has also frozen the warring parties. In January, the Russian army "only" occupied 245 square kilometers. In November it was 505 square kilometers and in December 445 square kilometers.
The group also indicates where the Russians have attacked. The focus of the attacks in January was again on Pokrovsk, accounting for 33 percent.
21 percent of Russian attacks are directed at the area around the city of Hulyaypole in the south of the front line - see marker in the image below. In the Zaporizhzhya oblast, Moscow's men are also trying to move closer to the large city of Zaporizhzhya in order to bring it within range of barrel artillery and drones.
12 percent of the attacks in January took place in the area around the city of Kostyantynivka in Donetsk. Kostyantynivka is located 17 kilometers from Bachmut, which was captured in May 2023.
8 percent concern Lyman (1, see bottom picture), which together with Sloviansk (2) and Kramatorsk (3) spans an arc to Kostyantynivka (4).
Oleksandrivka (3, see picture below), which lies between Lyman and Isyum (4), also accounted for 8 percent of the attacks in January.
The area of Sloviansk receives 3 percent of the attacks, but here the Russians capture 20 percent of their territorial gains from January.
