Russia's Deadliest Aerial Assault Hits Ukraine Amid Historic US-Brokered Talks

The attacks unfolded between two rounds of closed-door talks being held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Russian state media outlet TASS reported that a second day of negotiations was underway Saturday (local time), citing an unnamed source.

Overnight, Ukraine's air force reported widespread missile and drone launches, prompting air defense systems to activate across the country. In the capital, Kyiv, CNN journalists on the ground reported hearing multiple explosions as air raid sirens sounded.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the strikes killed at least one person and injured four others. He added that falling debris ignited fires and damaged residential buildings, leaving nearly 6,000 apartment blocks without heating and disrupting water supplies across parts of the city. Temperatures in Kyiv had dropped to -12 degrees Celsius (10 degrees Fahrenheit) by Saturday (local time) morning.

Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv, was also hit. Mayor Ihor Terekhov said strikes damaged a maternity hospital and a dormitory housing displaced people. At least 19 people were wounded, including one child.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia launched more than 370 drones and 21 missiles overnight, targeting Kyiv as well as the regions of Sumy and Chernihiv. He said the assaults were heavily focused on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, which he described as "critical" during the winter months.

The bombardment came shortly after delegations from Ukraine and Russia had the first day of talks with US representatives. According to TASS, territorial control remains the central unresolved issue in the negotiations.

Russia has reiterated its demand that Ukraine withdraw from the eastern Donbas region - a condition Kyiv has repeatedly rejected. The Donbas, which includes the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, was once Ukraine's industrial core and has a large Russian-speaking population. It was also the area where Moscow first began efforts to destabilise Ukraine in 2014.

The region holds strategic importance for Ukraine's defenses, containing fortified industrial cities, rail networks and supply routes that support the eastern Ukraine. Losing it would expose much of eastern Ukraine to further Russian advances, reported CNN.

Russia's delegation in Abu Dhabi reportedly includes senior military and intelligence figures, while Ukraine sent top diplomats and security officials. The US team is led by President Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff, alongside Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and White House adviser Josh Gruenbaum.

The Trump administration has urged Ukraine to consider a peace agreement, a stance that has raised concerns among some allies that such a deal could benefit Moscow.

Nearly four years after launching its full-scale invasion, Russia currently occupies about 20 per cent of Ukraine's internationally recognised territory, including nearly all of Luhansk and parts of Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.

After Friday's (local time) talks concluded, Ukraine's chief negotiator Rustem Umerov said discussions had centred on achieving a "dignified and lasting peace," and expressed gratitude to the United States for its role in mediation.

"Additional meetings are scheduled for tomorrow," he said.

Zelensky remained cautious, saying it was "too early" to draw conclusions. "We will see how the talks go tomorrow and what the results will be," he said in a nightly address.

He emphasized that "the main thing" is for Russia to demonstrate genuine willingness to end the war, adding: "Ukraine's position is clear. I have defined the framework for dialogue for our delegation."

- ANI