Ukraine-Russia-US talks to be held in Abu Dhabi

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that new two-day talks between US, Russian and Ukrainian envoys on halting the Ukraine war would start in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.

"The dates for the next trilateral meetings have been set - February 4 and 5 in Abu Dhabi," Mr Zelensky said in a post on X.

"Ukraine is ready for a substantive discussion, and we are interested in ensuring that the outcome brings us closer to a real and dignified end to the war."

It comes as a Russian drone strike on a bus carrying mine workers in Ukraine's eastern Dnipropetrovsk region killed at least 12 people on Sunday, hours after a drone attack on a city in the same region killed a man and a woman, according to officials.

An earlier Russian drone strike on a maternity hospital in the southern city of Zaporizhzhia injured seven people, including two women undergoing a medical examination, the region's governor and rescuers said.

The attacks came the same day the Kremlin said a week-long reduction in strikes announced by US President Donald Trump would end - though Ukraine says Russia kept up its attacks regardless.

Mr Trump said on Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to stop strikes on Kyiv and "various towns" during cold weather, an agreement that the Kremlin said would last until Sunday.

The terms of agreement were not clear, and the Kremlin did not link the supposed truce to the weather.

Russia has battered Ukraine's power and heating infrastructure, plunging residents into darkness and cold as temperatures have dropped as low as -20C.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Moscow had launched more than 6,000 drones, around 5,500 aerial bombs, and 158 missiles at Ukraine in January, primarily targeting the energy sector.

"We are recording Russian attempts to destroy logistics and connectivity between cities and communities," he said, urging allies to provide more air defence support and F-16 fighter jets.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's defence minister thanked Elon Musk after the US tycoon said efforts to stop Russia from using Starlink satellites for drone attacks seemed to have worked.

"The first steps are already delivering real results... Thank you for standing with us. You are a true champion of freedom and a true friend of the Ukrainian people," Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said.