Zelenskyy calls Abu Dhabi talks ‘constructive’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has posted a message on social media following the second day of talks in Abu Dhabi.

He said “a lot was discussed,” calling the talks “constructive.”

“The central focus of the discussions was the possible parameters for ending the war,” he added.

Representatives who took part in the talks will now report back to their governments to coordinate the next steps. Zelenskyy said a “list of issues for a potential next meeting” had already been put together by military representatives.

“Provided there is readiness to move forward — and Ukraine is ready — further meetings will take place, potentially as early as next week,” the Ukrainian president said.

The second day of talks between representatives from Russia, the US and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi has ended, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s lead negotiator said.

Russian media reported that the Russian delegates had returned to their hotel.

A spokesperson for the UAE government spokesperson said the talks had included “direct engagement” to discuss “outstanding elements” of the peace framework put forward by the US.

The spokesperson also said the talks had been held in a “constructive and positive atmosphere.”

The AFP news agency reported that further talks in Abu Dhabi have been planned for next week, citing an unnamed source.

A second day of talks in the UAE on a peace plan for Ukraine between US, Ukrainian and Russian teams has ended, according to a Ukrainian negotiator’s spokesperson cited by AFP news agency.

Reuters news agency has also cited a source familiar with the matter as saying negotiations had concluded for a second day.

No details of what was discussed have so far been released, but previous reports have suggested that territorial issues have been at the focus of the talks, with Russia insisting that Ukraine withdraw its troops from parts of the eastern Donbas region that Moscow does not control.

Kyiv has so far rejected such demands.

The talks in Abu Dhabi are the first official meetings between the two warring parties for several months.

The Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukraine in the early hours of Saturday have left more 1.2 million properties without power across the country amid freezing winter temperatures, Ukrainian officials say.

More than ​800,000 ​people in Kyiv and another 400,000 in the northern region of Chernihiv were without power after the latest attacks, Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba said.

Nearly 6,000 buildings in the capital were left without heating on Saturday morning as the city experiences temperatures of around -10 C (14 F).

This comes on the heels of previous attacks that have already disrupted the city’s centralized heat distribution system, meaning that many apartments have been deprived of warmth for some time.

Russia has stepped up a strategy of attacking Ukraine’s energy system that it has pursued since the start of its full-scale invasion in February 2022, a strategy that is seen by Kyiv as a bid to demoralize the population.

Ukraine’s foreign minister has denounced the overnight missile and drone strikes by Russian forces, saying they had “hit not only our people but also the negotiation table” as teams from the US, Ukraine and Russia are set to meet for a second day in Abu Dhabi to discuss a way to end Moscow’s invasion of its neighbor.

“Peace efforts? Trilateral meeting in the UAE? Diplomacy? For Ukrainians, this was another night of Russian terror,” Andriy Sybiha wrote on X.

“Cynically, (Russian President Vladimir) Putin ordered a brutal massive missile strike against Ukraine right while delegations are meeting in Abu Dhabi to advance the America-led peace process. His missiles hit not only our people, but also the negotiation table,” he wrote.

“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,” he added, referring to the new organization established by US President Donald Trump, in which the Russian president has been invited to take part.

Ukraine’s chief negotiator Rustem Umerov has said the discussions in Abu Dhabi have focused “on the parameters for ending Russia’s war and the further logic of the negotiation process.”

A major stumbling block in the negotiations remains Moscow’s insistence that Kyiv withdraw troops even from parts of the eastern Donbas region that remain under Ukrainian control.

The war unleashed by Russia’s full-scale invasion launched in February 2022 has killed tens of thousands, displaced millions and devastated several parts of Ukraine.
 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on allies to continue supplying air defense systems after overnight attacks by Russian forces killed at least one person and injured dozens of others.

“Overnight, Russia carried out a massive attack on our regions, launching over 370 attack drones and 21 missiles of various types. Kyiv and the region, as well as the Sumy, Kharkiv, and Chernihiv regions, were targeted,” Zelenskyy wrote on messaging app X.

While expressing condolences to the family and loved ones of the person who was killed and gratitude to emergency workers, Zelenskyy said such strikes “must be met with a strong response.”

“We are counting on the reaction and assistance of all our partners. Every missile for Patriot, NASAMS, and all other systems helps protect critical infrastructure and enables people to endure the winter cold,” he wrote.

“We must ensure full implementation of everything agreed with (US) President (Donald) Trump in Davos regarding air defense,” he added, without providing detail on those agreements.

Zelenskyy met with Trump on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday, with the Ukrainian leader saying agreement had been reached on postwar security guarantees for his country at the meeting.

Russian missiles and drones hit Ukraine’s two largest cities of Kyiv and Kharkiv early on Saturday, with Ukrainian officials so far reporting one death and more the 20 cases of injury.

Kyiv’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, said the strikes killed one person in the capital city and injured another four, of whom three were hospitalized.

Another four people were injured in the wider Kyiv region, the head of the regional military authority said. 

Klitschko said fires had broken out in ⁠districts on either side of the Dnipro River, which runs through the city, and that heating and water supplies had been disrupted in some areas to the east of the river.

A medical facility was reportedly among the buildings damaged in the attacks.

In Kharkiv, which is located just 30 kilometers (18 miles) from the Russian border, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said at least 11 people had been injured in attacks involving 25 drones over 2 1/2 hours.

Terekhov wrote on the messaging app Telegram that the drones had hit a shelter for displaced people, a hospital and a maternity hospital.

The attacks came as trilateral talks are set to continue in Abu Dhabi between top teams from the US, Ukraine and Russia on a peace plan.

Negotiators from the US, Ukraine and Russia held peace talks in the same room in Abu Dhabi, pictures show.

That is the first visual confirmation that all three sides sat in the room and discussed a plan to end Russia’s war.

But there’s no concrete outcome of the meeting yet, with talks to take place once again tomorrow, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The key sticking point remains the question of territory in Ukraine’s east that Moscow has been clear that it wants in full. Ukraine has said it won’t budge.

The meeting takes place as many in Ukraine remain without power or heat as a result of ongoing Russian attacks.

Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov said in a post on social media that the talks focused on the “parameters” for ending Russia’s war and “logic of the negotiation process” aimed at advancing lasting peace.

“Additional meetings are scheduled for tomorrow. Tomorrow, the Head of the General Staff, General Andrii Hnatov, and the Deputy Head of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, Lieutenant General Vadym Skibitskyi, will join the Ukrainian delegation,” he said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a statement on social media his delegation should have answers from Russia by now.

“The key is that Russia must be ready to end the war it started,” Zelenskyy said.

“As for the substance of today’s discussions, it is still too early to draw conclusions,” he said. “We will see how the conversation develops tomorrow and what results it produces.”

The talks involving Ukraine, the US and Russia have concluded for the day in the United Arab Emirates, the Ukrainian presidency said.

The discussions were the first trilateral talks aimed at finding options for bringing the Russia-Ukraine war to an end.

Previously, the sides had discussed proposals separately, holding bilateral meetings with US representatives.

This is the first time they have sat at the same table. 

DW takes a closer look at what can be expected and some of the key role players involved in the Abu Dhabi talks, which are scheduled to continue Saturday.

The French navy has diverted the “Grinch” oil tanker it detained on Thursday towards the ⁠port ‍of Marseille-Fos for further investigation, sources close to ⁠the investigation told reporters on ‌Friday.

The French military suspected the tanker was operating under a false flag and ‌intercepted ⁠it. Officials believe it belongs to the so-called shadow fleet of vessels that enable Russia to circumvent sanctions and export oil.

The tanker, which was flying under a Comoros flag, was seized shortly after it entered the Mediterranean Sea through the Straits of Gibraltar. It is expected to arrive in the southern French port on Saturday.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday announced that the French Navy, with the support of allies, had intercepted a vessel “subject to international sanctions.” and suspected of flying a false flag.

The ​case is being investigated by the prosecutor of Marseille, ⁠who ​handles maritime law. 

Talks between Ukrainian and Russian representatives, mediated by the US, have begun in Abu Dhabi. 

“The talks commenced today in Abu Dhabi and are scheduled to continue over two days, as part of ongoing efforts to promote dialogue and identify political solutions to the crisis,” Emirati Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan said. 

Igor Kosyukov, the head of the Russian military intelligence organization GRU, is expected to lead the Russian delegation in the talks. 

Former Minister of Defense and top national security official Rustem Umerov will lead the Ukrainian side, along with Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Kyrylo Budanov and several other representatives. 

US Special Envoy for Peace Missions Steve Witkoff will be attending the talks, along with US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. Kushner currently has no official title in the Trump administration.   

The EU on Friday announced it would be sending some 447 emergency generators to Ukraine in an effort to bring relief to residents of the country’s beleaguered capital as Russia continues to target Ukraine’s power grid in the dead of winter. 

Moscow’s most recent strikes forced Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko to implore the city’s 1 million residents to seek temporary shelter outside the capital. The targeted strikes are part of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s annual attempts to break the will of Ukrainians by trying to freeze them into submission each winter since he launched the illegal full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Temperatures in the capital are currently hovering around -20 degrees Celsius (-4 degrees Fahrenheit) as electrical engineers attempt to restore heat and electricity. 

The bloc said the generators, worth some €3.7 ‌million ($4.3 million), will be dispatched from strategic reserves in Poland and distributed ‍to “restore power to hospitals, shelters and critical services” in cooperation with the Ukrainian Red Cross.

“Russia’s ​continued attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure… are designed to break Ukrainian spirit,” European Commissioner for Equality Hadja Lahbib said in a statement.

Since the start of the Russian invasion almost four years ago, the EU has sent more than 9,500 generators to Ukraine.

Additionally, the European Commission says it has provided more than €1.2 billion in humanitarian aid to protect Ukraine’s civilian population, as well as another €3 billion for energy security.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday said territorial issues will be a key point of focus during negotiations between Ukrainian, Russian and US representatives this Friday and Saturday in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

“The Donbas is a key issue,” said Zelenskyy.

The eastern region has been the scene of clashes for years, with Russia now demanding that Ukrainian troops withdraw and Moscow receive control over the contested area.   

Despite US efforts to bring the conflict to a close before it enters its fifth year, Russia has consistently shown an unwillingness to engage in good-faith negotiations to end its failed invasion.  

At the moment, Russian forces control nearly 90% of the Donbas region.Ukraine has refused to withdraw its troops from the area.

Though the sides are at loggerheads over a number of issues, they appear to agree on one thing: the region’s significance.

On Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, “Russia’s position is known: Ukraine and the Ukrainian armed forces must leave the Donbas.”