Ukraine slams ‘barbaric’ strikes after Russia unleashes deadly overnight attack as three-way peace talks resume
The attack comes after Zelenskyy warns that Putin ‘must be ready to end the war he started’ during peace talks in Abu Dhabi
Ukraine has condemned a series of "brutal' Russian strikes unleashed on the country overnight amid ongoing peace negotiations.
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The overnight strikes on Kyiv killed one person and injured 23 others in Kyiv and Kharkiv, despite peace talks to end the war resuming today in the United Arab Emirates.
Slamming the assault, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the "brutal" attack had "hit not only our people, but also the negotiation table".
Mr Sybiha added that the "barbaric" overnight assault proves "that Putin's place is not at the board of peace, but at the dock of the special tribunal".
The attack follows Volodymyr Zelensky's statement that Vladimir Putin must be ready to end the war he started.
Hundreds of thousands of residents in the Chernihiv region have also been left without power in the -16C winter cold, as Russia continues to target energy facilities in Ukraine.
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Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the strikes had triggered fires either side of the Dnipro River, which bisects the capital, adding that heating and water supplies had also been disrupted in parts of the city.
Russian, Ukrainian and US delegates have been meeting in Abu Dhabi for the first trilateral talks since Russia first invaded Ukraine in 2022.
The Kremlin continues to demand that Ukraine cedes the Donbas, which Russian forces have been occupying, despite Kyiv insisting this is a red line.
Speaking in his evening address to the nation after the first day, the Ukrainian president said: “The key is that Russia must be ready to end the war it started.”
The Kremlin has stated clearly that that keeping Donbas is a “very important condition”.
According to the UAE's foreign ministry, negotiations are scheduled to continue over two days, in an attempt to "promote dialogue and identify political solutions to the crisis”.
The tripartite talks are unfolding against a backdrop of intensified Russian strikes on Ukraine's energy system as the region faces a particularly harsh winter.
Maxim Timchenko, the head of Ukraine's top private power producer, stressed Ukraine needed the attacks on energy infrastructure to pause, as the situation was nearing "humanitarian catastrophe".
The Ukrainian leader has been appearing increasingly frustrated as the war wages on, calling Europe a "salad" whilst speaking to world leaders at Davos.
“Dear friends, we should not degrade ourselves to secondary roles, not when we have a chance to be a great power together.
"We should not accept that Europe is just a salad of small and middle powers, seasoned with enemies of Europe."