Just as US-brokered talks between Russia and the US gave hope to some peace in the region, fresh strikes were reported in Kyiv and Kharkiv on Saturday and warnings against drones and ballistic missiles were issued in the Ukrainian capital.
At least one person was killed and 15 others were wounded as Ukraine’s capital city Kyiv and the northeastern city of Kharkiv came under Russian attack overnight.
“Kyiv is under a massive enemy attack. Do not leave shelters!” Mayor Vitali Klitschko posted on Telegram, reported news agency AFP. The mayor reportedly said that residential buildings were hit in the attack, following which heat and water services in parts of the capital were disrupted.
Meanwhile, Kharkiv’s mayor Igor Terekhov said that the attack there was carried out by Iranian-made Shahed drones, and left several residential complexes damaged.
High-stakes talks in Abu Dhabi
The fresh strikes came even as negotiators from Russia, Ukraine, and the United States met in Abu Dhabi to discuss plans to end the nearly four-year war. “The talks commenced today in Abu Dhabi and are scheduled to continue over two days, as part of ongoing efforts to promote dialogue and identify political solutions to the crisis,” the UAE foreign ministry was quoted as saying by news agency Reuters.
The Donbas region of eastern Ukraine was a sticking point during the talks as Russia has been demanding that Kyiv pull out of there. The demand came up in the Abu Dhabi meeting too, reports said. “Russia’s position is well known on the fact that Ukraine, Ukrainian armed forces, have to leave the territory of the Donbas,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying.
The trilateral meeting came a day after US President Donald Trump met with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky. Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin also discussed a Ukraine settlement with Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
Proposals ‘nearly ready’, talks to continue
Zelensky, who met Trump a day before the key trilateral US-Russia-Ukraine meeting in Abu Dhabi, has said that peace proposals to bring the conflict to an end are “nearly ready”, news agency AP reported. However, uncertainty on the future of the Ukrainian land that Russia seeks control of remains.
The Ukrainian president reportedly also reiterated his openness to establishing a free trade zone under Ukraine’s control in the country’s east. “I think it will be positive for our business,” Zelenskyy told reporters, adding that the proposal was discussed with Trump.
Meanwhile, the US-brokered talks in Abu Dhabi will continue over the weekend in an effort “to promote dialogue and identify political solutions to the crisis”, according to a statement by UAE’s foreign ministry.
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