Deadly Russian attacks hit Ukraine ahead of talks to end war

Russian attacks on Ukraine have killed at least one person and injured 23 others overnight, as negotiators from Ukraine, Russia and the United States prepare to meet in Abu Dhabi for a second day of talks to end Russia’s nearly four-year invasion.

One person was killed and four others were wounded in Russian drone attacks on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, according to Kyiv City Military Administration head Tymur Tkachenko.

In Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, drone attacks wounded 19 people, Kharkiv mayor Ihor Terekhov said.

The attacks came as envoys were expected to meet in the United Arab Emirates for a second day of talks on Saturday.

The talks are the first known instance that officials from the Trump administration have sat down with both countries as part of Washington’s push for progress to end Moscow’s invasion, which began in February 2022.

The UAE’s foreign ministry said the talks are part of efforts “to promote dialogue and identify political solutions to the crisis”.

The White House described Friday’s first day as productive.

There has been a flurry of diplomatic activity in recent days, from Switzerland to the Kremlin, even though serious obstacles remain between both sides.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday that a potential peace deal was “nearly ready”, but certain sensitive sticking points – most notably those related to territorial issues – remain unresolved.

Just hours before the three-way talks began, Russian president Vladimir Putin discussed a Ukraine settlement with US president Donald Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner during marathon overnight talks.

The Kremlin insists that to reach a peace deal, Kyiv must withdraw its troops from the areas in the east that Russia illegally annexed but has not fully captured.