Ukraine has condemned a fresh wave of overnight Russian missile and drone strikes that killed one person and injured at least 23 others, casting a shadow over the second day of US-led peace talks aimed at ending the nearly three-year war.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister, Andrii Sybiha, described the attacks as “brutal,” saying they struck not only civilians but also undermined ongoing diplomatic efforts. “This assault hit not only our people, but also the negotiation table,” he said.
Delegations from Ukraine, Russia, and the United States are meeting in Abu Dhabi for the first trilateral talks since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. A source familiar with the discussions told the BBC that limited progress had been made, although the most contentious issue—territory—remains unresolved.
In Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said one person was killed and four others wounded during the overnight strikes, with three victims hospitalised. He added that damage to critical infrastructure had left about 6,000 buildings without heating, as temperatures across the country remain below freezing.
“The main target of the Russians was the energy infrastructure,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a statement following the attacks.
Kharkiv also came under sustained assault in the early hours of Saturday. Mayor Ihor Terekhov reported that 19 people were injured, while a maternity hospital and a shelter housing displaced civilians were damaged.
Speaking on the second day of talks, Sybiha condemned the strikes as “barbaric,” saying they demonstrated that Russian President Vladimir Putin “has no place at the board of peace, but at the dock of a special tribunal.”
Last week, US President Donald Trump said Putin had accepted an invitation to join his so-called “Board of Peace,” an initiative focused on resolving global conflicts. The Kremlin has not confirmed Putin’s participation.
Russia currently occupies about 20% of Ukrainian territory, including large parts of the eastern Donbas region. Moscow is demanding that Kyiv cede significant portions of that land—an outcome Ukraine has firmly rejected.
After the first day of negotiations, Ukraine’s Defence Minister and lead negotiator, Rustem Umerov, said discussions had centred on “the parameters for ending Russia’s war and the further logic of the negotiation process aimed at achieving a dignified and lasting peace.”
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