Deadly Russian strikes hit Kyiv and Kharkiv overnight as Ukrainian, Russian, and U.S. officials held talks in Abu Dhabi on a U.S.-backed plan to end the war in Ukraine.
The attacks took place late Friday and early Saturday, during the second day of negotiations in the United Arab Emirates. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia launched more than 370 attack drones and 21 types of missiles, killing at least one person and injuring 23 others in the two cities.
Air raid sirens sounded across Kyiv, and explosions were reported overnight. Mayor Vitali Klitschko told residents to remain in shelters, warning of a “massive enemy attack.” Several buildings were set on fire, and heating and water services were disrupted in parts of the capital.
In Kharkiv, Iranian-made drones struck residential areas and damaged two medical facilities, local authorities said. Fifteen people were injured.
The strikes coincided with the first direct talks between Ukrainian and Russian officials since the start of the war, held as part of a U.S.-backed peace effort. Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov said discussions focused on “the parameters for ending the war and the further logic of the negotiation process.”
The two sides remain divided, particularly over the future of eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region, a central obstacle to any settlement in a conflict that has killed tens of thousands, displaced millions, and devastated large parts of the country.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga accused Moscow of seeking to derail the talks. “Cynically, Putin ordered a brutal, massive missile attack on Ukraine just as delegations in Abu Dhabi were trying to advance the U.S.-led peace process,” he said. “His missiles hit not only our people, but also the negotiating table.”
