It ignored the ongoing peace efforts of , in its energy sector during last night, the Ukrainian president said and made it clear that these attacks will affect them and the attitude of the Ukrainian delegation in Abu Dhabi.
Zelensky will inform the US of the attacks and readjust the negotiators’ strategy
As Zelesnki mentioned, during a joint press conference with the Minister of Foreign Affairs. of NATO Mark Rutte, Kiev will contact US officials to discuss the consequences for Russia after the attack. On the subject, Zelesnyi said that he discussed with Rutte the issue of the rapid procurement of air defense systems and licenses for the production of American weapons in Europe.
In addition, he said that now the work of the Ukrainian negotiating team will be adjusted accordingly after Russia’s attack, as he said: “It was a deliberate attack on the energy infrastructure using a record number of ballistic missiles.”
As he argued: “The Russian military took advantage of the US proposal to briefly stop attacks not to boost diplomacy, but to stockpile missiles and wait until the coldest day of the year, when temperatures in large parts of Ukraine are below -20°C.”
The next round of peace talks with Russian and US officials will begin tomorrow in Abu Dhabi.
Massive Russian strikes
Russia attacked Ukraine overnight with 450 drones and more than 60 missiles, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibykha said today, adding that Moscow was waiting for temperatures to drop before attacking Ukraine’s energy system.
“Neither the expected diplomatic efforts this week in Abu Dhabi nor his promises to the United States have stopped him from continuing to terrorize ordinary people in the harshest winter,” Sibiha wrote in X.
Russian forces attacked Kiev, Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, and other urban centers in the early hours of the morning, officials said, setting fires and dealing further damage to energy infrastructure.
The strikes injured four people, officials in the two largest cities said. They took place on the eve of the next planned tripartite talks between Russia, Ukraine and the US in the United Arab Emirates aimed at ending the nearly four-year-old war.
In Kiev, where overnight temperatures fell to almost minus 20 degrees Celsius, eyewitnesses reported loud explosions after midnight, saying they were attacked by both rockets and unmanned aerial vehicles.
The strikes damaged five districts, hitting apartment complexes and a building housing a kindergarten, said Timur Tkachenko, head of the capital’s military administration.
The air alert remained in effect for more than five hours.
The president of the European Commission goes to Kyiv
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, will visit Kiev on the occasion of the fourth anniversary of the start of the war in Ukraine. The announcement was made today by the representative of the Commission, Paola Pinio.
As P. Pinho reported, Ursula von der Leyen had a telephone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky yesterday, as part of their regular contacts. During the conversation, the President of the Commission accepted an invitation to visit Ukraine for the anniversary marking four years since the start of the full Russian invasion.
“This visit will be a renewed and strong message of the European Union’s solidarity with Ukraine, as well as the EU’s determination and unity in the face of continued Russian aggression,” the Commission spokeswoman said, without giving further details about the trip.
