Russia strikes Ukraine as talks with US to end war continue

Russia launched drone and missile attacks on Ukraine overnight, killing one person and injuring 23 others despite taking part in talks with the US aimed at ending the war.

The mayor of Ukrainian capital Kyiv said one person had died and four had been wounded following a “massive enemy attack”, while Kharkiv’s mayor reported that 19 people had been hurt during a sustained assault on the city.

Delegations from Russia, Ukraine and the US have been meeting in Abu Dhabi in the first trilateral talks since the Kremlin launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbour in 2022.

A source has told the BBC that some progress had been made but the key issue of territory remains unresolved.

Russia occupies roughly 20% of Ukraine, including parts of the eastern Donbas region. The Kremlin wants Ukraine to hand over large areas of the territory. Ukraine has ruled this out.

As the three-way talks in Abu Dhabi enter a second day, Kyiv’s mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram that three of the four people who had been injured had been hospitalised.

He added that the capital’s critical infrastructure had been damaged which had left 6,000 buildings without heating.

Temperatures in Ukraine are at sub-zero levels and in a statement following the assaults, President Volodymyr Zelensky said: “The main target of the Russians was the energy infrastructure.”

In Kharkiv, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said 19 people had been injured during the strikes in the early hours of Saturday morning. A maternity hospital and a hostel for displaced people were damaged.