On eve of day two of talks in UAE capital, Russian assaults minimize off about 1.2 million from energy in sub-zero temperatures.
Ukraine and Russia ended a second day of United States-brokered talks in Abu Dhabi with out an settlement, however with the warring sides saying they had been open to additional dialogue, as Russian assaults on Ukraine’s vitality infrastructure continued.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy mentioned on X on Saturday that bilateral discussions centered on the “parameters for ending the struggle, in addition to the safety circumstances required to attain this”, and that additional talks may happen as early as subsequent week.
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The talks had been attended by Ukraine’s chief negotiator Rustem Umerov and army intelligence head Kyrylo Budanov, and Russian army intelligence and military representatives, in keeping with Zelenskyy. US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner had been additionally current.
A UAE authorities assertion mentioned talks had been “constructive and optimistic”, tackling “excellent parts” of Washington’s peace framework, with “direct engagement” between Ukraine and Russia, a uncommon occasion within the nearly four-year-old struggle triggered by Russia’s full-scale invasion.
The preliminary US draft drew heavy criticism in Kyiv and Western Europe for hewing too intently to Moscow’s maximalist calls for and territorial ambitions, whereas Russia rejected revised variations over proposals for stationing European peacekeepers in Ukraine.
Earlier than the discussions, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov mentioned on Friday that Russia had not dropped its insistence on Ukraine withdrawing from its japanese space of Donbas, the economic heartland consisting of the areas of Donetsk and Luhansk.
Whereas Russia controls all of Luhansk, Russian President Vladimir Putin needs Ukraine to give up the remaining 20 % it nonetheless holds in Donetsk.
Reporting from Kyiv, Al Jazeera’s Audrey MacAlpine mentioned: “We … know that they had been meant to be discussing what to do concerning the contested areas in Donbas and in addition about the potential of a ceasefire on Ukraine’s vitality infrastructure.”
‘Cynical’ assault throughout talks
On the eve of the second day of talks, Russia focused Ukraine’s vitality infrastructure, slicing off about 1.2 million folks from electrical energy in sub-zero temperatures, in keeping with Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Oleksii Kuleba.
Kyiv Metropolis Army Administration head Tymur Tkachenko mentioned drone assaults on Kyiv killed one particular person and wounded 4 others.
Kharkiv regional head Oleh Syniehubov mentioned that drone assaults on Ukraine’s second-largest metropolis wounded 27 folks.
Ukrainian Overseas Minister Andrii Sybiha, who was not at the talks, accused Putin of appearing “cynically”. “His missiles hit not solely our folks, but additionally the negotiation desk,” he mentioned.
“This barbaric assault as soon as once more proves that Putin’s place shouldn’t be at [US President Donald Trump’s] Board of Peace, however within the dock of the particular tribunal,” Sybiha wrote on X.
It emerged on Monday that Trump’s administration had invited Putin to hitch the board, purportedly aimed toward resolving world conflicts, in addition to overseeing governance and reconstruction in Gaza.
Kira Rudik, a Ukrainian opposition member of parliament in Kyiv, mentioned on X that the assaults throughout talks had been “not a coincidence”.
“This has been Putin’s technique many occasions prior to now. Because of this a ceasefire was such a vital prerequisite to any actual talks,” she mentioned.
Reporting on the talks, Zelenskyy mentioned on X that he valued “the understanding of the necessity for American monitoring and oversight of the method of ending the struggle and guaranteeing real safety”.
