Russia attacks Ukraine’s Energy sources amid peace talks in UAE

Russia launched its fresh strikes on Ukraine's energy grid early Saturday amid US brokered trilateral peace talks in Abu Dhabi.

Russia unleashed a massive attack on Ukraine's energy infrastructure early Saturday, leaving Kyiv with overnight explosions and knocking out power to over 1.2 million properties nationwide.

According to a Reuters report, nearly 6,000 buildings in Kyiv were left without heating on Saturday morning while the temperature dipped to -10°C, with many apartments already freezing from prior attacks on the city's centralized heat system.

Moscow timed the strikes for ongoing U.S brokered trilateral talks between Russia and Ukraine in the UAE, now in their second day, with no compromise in sight .

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported one killed and four injured in the capital, plus 19 wounded, including a child, in Kharkiv.

Russia's heaviest winter attack yet on Ukraine's power grid, targeted since the 2022 invasion, has left millions with only hours of electricity daily and many without heat or water.

Over 800,000 in Kyiv and 400,000 in Chernihiv's northern region remained powerless after the latest attacks, Deputy PM Oleksiy Kuleba said.

Ukraine's air force reported Russia launched 375 drones and 21 missiles, including two rare Tsirkon ballistic missiles, in the overnight barrage, reported Reuters.

The capital had already weathered two mass overnight attacks since the New Year, cutting power and heat to hundreds of residential buildings.

The attack comes in the backdrop of the trilateral U.S brokered peace talks between Russia, Ukraine, and the United States, which opened on January 23, in Abu Dhabi, marking the first direct negotiations among the three since Russia's full-scale invasion nearly four years ago.

US President Trump's envoys, including Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, joined by Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov and Russia's Admiral Igor Kostyukov, to discuss a ceasefire framework, with territorial disputes.