On eve of day two of talks in UAE capital, Russian assaults reduce 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 have 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 targeted on the “parameters for ending the struggle, in addition to the safety circumstances required to realize this”, and that additional talks might happen as early as subsequent week.
Beneficial Tales
record of three objectsfinish of record
The talks have been attended by Ukraine’s chief negotiator Rustem Umerov and navy intelligence head Kyrylo Budanov, and Russian navy intelligence and military representatives, in accordance with Zelenskyy. US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have been additionally current.
A UAE authorities assertion mentioned talks have been “constructive and optimistic”, tackling “excellent components” of Washington’s peace framework, with “direct engagement” between Ukraine and Russia, a uncommon occasion within the virtually 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 carefully 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 jap space of Donbas, the commercial 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 p.c it nonetheless holds in Donetsk.
Reporting from Kyiv, Al Jazeera’s Audrey MacAlpine mentioned: “We … know that they have been meant to be discussing what to do in regards to the contested areas in Donbas and in addition about the potential for 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, reducing off about 1.2 million folks from electrical energy in sub-zero temperatures, in accordance with Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Oleksii Kuleba.
Kyiv Metropolis Navy Administration head Tymur Tkachenko mentioned drone assaults on Kyiv killed one individual 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 performing “cynically”. “His missiles hit not solely our folks, but in addition the negotiation desk,” he mentioned.
“This barbaric assault as soon as once more proves that Putin’s place is just not 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 affix 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 have been “not a coincidence”.
“This has been Putin’s technique many instances previously. This is the reason a ceasefire was such an important 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”.
