‘Barbaric’ attack on Ukraine’s largest cities during peace talks – further negotiations expected ‘as early as next week’

Fresh talks between the US, Russia and Ukraine could take place “as early as next week”, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said.

Trilateral negotiations took place in Abu Dhabi, UAE, on Friday and Saturday, which were “productive” and “constructive” according to Washington and Mr Zelenskyy respectively – but no breakthrough occurred.

Talk of peace also didn’t stop Moscow from raining down hundreds of missiles and drones on Ukraine’s two largest cities, Kyiv and Kharkiv, early Saturday morning.

“This barbaric attack once again proves that Putin’s place is not at [Donald Trump’s] Board of Peace, but in
the dock of the special tribunal,” said Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha.

Some 1.2 million buildings were left without power nationwide after the attack, while temperatures plummeted to -13C (8.6F) in the capital.

Military analyst Professor Michael Clarke said the strikes were timed to influence the talks by attempting to convince the White House that the Russian army was unstoppable.

One person was killed in the attack and 31 people were injured. Footage showed firefighters scrambling to tackle flames ignited by the strikes.

“Targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure is a clear breach of the rules of warfare,” UN human rights chief Volker Turk said.

Despite images showing damage to apartments, the Russian defence ministry claimed it targeted Ukrainian military and industrial installations as well as energy and transport infrastructure used by the armed forces.

The Ukrainian negotiating team’s main task in Abu Dhabi was to convey how the relentless Russian strikes were undermining diplomacy, Mr Zelenskyy said.

Could talks be inching towards a demilitarised economic zone?

“The Ukrainians should walk out of Abu Dhabi,” an American source who has accompanied US delegations into Ukraine told me after the overnight strikes in Kharkiv and Kyiv.

“Putin is unserious about peace.”

But that hasn’t happened. If there is one small positive to point to, it’s that the talks have made it into a second day. There’s been no breakthrough – none was expected yet – but they haven’t broken down either.

Beyond that, the messaging after day one has been limited and carefully calibrated.

The White House described the talks as “productive,” while Zelenskyy said it was “too early to draw conclusions,” and said he remains in hourly contact with his negotiators.

The issue of land is clearly where things remain deadlocked. Russia has doubled down on its demand for the entire eastern Donbas region, and Ukraine has made clear that is not happening.

While Ukraine now holds only around 10% of the Donbas, that territory is strategically critical. Handing it over would give Russia a significant military advantage should it attempt another invasion – and Kyiv is not about to surrender land it has fought and lost lives defending for nearly four years.

Could the talks be inching towards an agreement on a demilitarised economic zone in the east? This is something Zelenskyy described in December as a possible framework for ending the war – involving a freeze in fighting and a pullback of Ukrainian and Russian forces to agreed positions.

This does feel all too familiar. High-level talks that result in little change on the ground for Ukrainians trying to protect their families and keep warm this winter.

But something has brought all three delegations together at short notice for the first time.

As the second day of talks draws to a close, we may begin to understand what that is.

For its part, the Kremlin continued to demand Mr Zelenskyy give up all the land Russian soldiers have occupied by force, plus the rest of the eastern Donbas region.

Ukraine shows little appetite to concede – and nor do its citizens, according to polls.

Russia even floated the idea of using the bulk of nearly $5bn (£3.66bn) in Russian assets frozen in the US to fund rebuilding the cities it has destroyed in the Donbas.

Mr Zelenskyy dismissed it as “nonsense”.

‘Barbaric’ attack on Ukraine’s largest cities during peace talks – further negotiations expected ‘as early as next week’

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Could talks be inching towards a demilitarised economic zone?

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