Russian air attacks across Ukraine have killed at least one civilian and injured more than 30 others, Ukrainian officials said on Saturday, as diplomats from Moscow, Kyiv and Washington convened in Abu Dhabi for a second day of high-stakes peace talks aimed at ending Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II.
In Kyiv, one person was killed and four others wounded after Russian drones struck residential areas overnight, according to the head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, Tymur Tkachenko. Emergency services were deployed across multiple districts of the capital as explosions echoed through the city during the early hours of Saturday morning.
Further east, Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, bore the brunt of the attacks. Regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said 27 civilians were wounded when Russian drones hit densely populated neighbourhoods, damaging apartment buildings, vehicles and commercial properties. Several of the injured, including children, were taken to hospital.
The strikes came as negotiators from Ukraine, Russia and the United States were expected to resume talks in Abu Dhabi, hosted by the United Arab Emirates. A source familiar with the discussions told Reuters that the second day of talks began on Saturday morning, shortly after the latest wave of Russian air assaults.
The talks mark the first known instance in which officials from the Trump administration have sat down with both Kyiv and Moscow simultaneously, as Washington intensifies diplomatic efforts to broker a ceasefire and push toward a broader settlement nearly four years into Russia’s full-scale invasion.
The UAE’s foreign ministry said the meetings were part of ongoing international efforts “to promote dialogue and identify political solutions to the crisis.” The White House described the first day of discussions on Friday as “productive,” though officials offered few details on specific outcomes.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha strongly condemned the timing of the attacks, accusing Russian President Vladimir Putin of deliberately undermining diplomatic efforts.
“Cynically, Putin ordered a brutal massive missile strike against Ukraine right while delegations are meeting in Abu Dhabi to advance the America-led peace process,” Mr Sybiha wrote in a post on X. “His missiles hit not only our people, but also the negotiation table.”
According to Ukraine’s air force, Russia launched 375 drones and 21 missiles in the overnight barrage, once again targeting energy infrastructure. Authorities said the strikes knocked out electricity and heating across large parts of Kyiv, compounding the hardship for civilians as temperatures dropped to around minus 10 degrees Celsius.
Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Chernyshov said about 800,000 residents in the capital were left without power following the latest assault. Repair crews worked through the day to restore services, but officials warned outages could persist for days due to the scale of the damage.
The latest bombardment follows two previous mass overnight attacks since the start of the New Year that also disrupted electricity and heating for hundreds of residential buildings, highlighting Russia’s continued focus on Ukraine’s energy grid during winter.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday that the intensity of Russia’s overnight strikes underscored the urgency of implementing commitments on additional air defence support agreed with US President Donald Trump earlier this week during talks in Davos, Switzerland.
“Russia’s actions once again show that words must be backed by concrete steps,” Mr Zelenskyy said, calling for the full delivery of promised air defence systems to protect Ukrainian cities.
Despite the violence, diplomatic activity has intensified in recent days, with meetings held across Europe and the Middle East. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday, Mr Zelenskyy said a potential peace agreement was “nearly ready,” though he acknowledged that major obstacles remained.
Chief among them are territorial disputes. The Kremlin continues to demand that Ukraine withdraw its forces from regions in the east and south that Russia illegally annexed but does not fully control — a condition Kyiv has repeatedly rejected as unacceptable.
Just hours before the three-way talks began in Abu Dhabi, Mr Putin held lengthy overnight discussions in Moscow with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, signalling Washington’s growing direct engagement with the Kremlin.
While neither side has publicly outlined concessions under consideration, analysts say the renewed talks reflect mounting international pressure to halt the conflict, which has killed tens of thousands, displaced millions, and reshaped global security dynamics.
For Ukrainians on the ground, however, the diplomacy offered little immediate relief as air raid sirens wailed and emergency crews sifted through rubble.
“As long as missiles keep falling, it is hard to believe in peace,” said a Kyiv resident whose apartment block lost power overnight. “But people still hope that these talks will mean something.”
As negotiations continue behind closed doors in Abu Dhabi, the latest attacks have cast a long shadow over the fragile push for peace, reinforcing doubts over whether diplomacy can keep pace with the war’s relentless violence.
