Ukraine and Russia have agreed to hold a second round of US-brokered direct peace talks next weekend after a two-day meeting in Abu Dhabi, despite Ukrainian complaints that negotiations were undermined by a barrage of deadly strikes. The trilateral talks in the UAE would resume on 1 February, a US official said on Saturday, adding: I think getting everyone together was a big step.
Ukraine is currently undergoing a particularly cold spell with temperatures in the capital Kyiv reaching lows of minus 17 degrees Celsius. Because of Russia's ongoing destruction of the country's energy infrastructure, the situation is critical. Authorities have imposed strict timetables for when electricity can be used. About 400 high-rise buildings in the capital have no heating at all. Some do not have access to water.
Fighting Russian missiles and drones ripped through apartment blocks in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Thursday, killing at least 23 people, including four children, authorities said, in an attack the United States warned undermines peace efforts. Ukraine's air force said Moscow fired at least 629 drones and missiles, making it the second-largest overnight barrage of the entire war, according to Kyiv's data.
