Ukraine says Russian strikes hit ‘negotiation table’ – Firstpost

Ukraine on Saturday condemned a wave of deadly Russian strikes that left nearly 6,000 buildings without heat in freezing temperatures, as delegations from Ukraine,
Russia and the United States gathered in Abu Dhabi for a second day of negotiations aimed at ending the nearly four-year war.

The temperature in
Kyiv was at minus 12 degrees Celsius (10.4 degrees Fahrenheit) on Saturday morning.

“Peace efforts? Trilateral meeting in the UAE? Diplomacy? For Ukrainians, this was another night of Russian terror,” Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said.

Ukraine’s foreign minister accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of “cynically” ordering the assault during the negotiations.

“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,” Sybiha said. “This barbaric attack once again proves that Putin’s place is not at the board of peace, but at the dock of the special tribunal,” Sybiha wrote on X.

Russia launched waves of air strikes against Ukraine’s two largest cities, with one person killed and at least 23 injured. Ukraine’s air force said Russia had launched 375 drones and 21 missiles. The strikes again targeted energy infrastructure, cutting power and heat to large parts of the capital.

Talks continue amid caution

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiyy said on Friday it was too early to draw conclusions from the first day of meetings in Abu Dhabi and urged Russia to show it was ready to end the war. The talks were expected to resume for a final day on Saturday morning.

Ahead of the discussions, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday that Russia had not dropped its insistence that Ukraine yield all of its eastern Donbas area, the industrial heartland comprising the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s demand that Ukraine surrender the 20 per cent it still holds of Donetsk, about 5,000 sq km (1,900 sq miles), has been a major stumbling block to any agreement.

Zelenskiyy refuses to give up land that Russia has not been able to capture in four years of grinding, attritional warfare. Polls show little appetite among Ukrainians for territorial concessions.

Russia says it wants a diplomatic solution but will continue working to achieve its goals by military means as long as a negotiated settlement remains out of reach.