Ukraines Foreign Minister says Putin cynically ordered strike during Abu Dhabi talks

Ukraine’s ‍Foreign Minister accused ​Russian President ‌Vladimir ​Putin on Saturday (January 24, 2026) of “cynically” ordering a massive missile strike while ​delegations from Ukraine, ⁠Russia and the U.S. were ​in ⁠Abu Dhabi for Washington-brokered peace talks.

“This barbaric ‌attack once ‌again proves that ‍Putin’s place is not at ‍the board of peace, but at the dock of the ⁠special tribunal,” Foreign Minister ​Andrii Sybiha wrote ⁠on X.

Russia launched waves of air strikes against Ukraine’s two largest ​cities Kyiv and Kharkiv early on Saturday (January 24, 2026), with one person ⁠killed and at least 23 injured. Ukraine’s air force said Russia had launched 375 drones and 21 missiles in the strikes, which once again targeted energy infrastructure, ​knocking out power and heat ⁠for large parts of the capital.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had said on Friday (January 23, 2026) that it was too early to draw conclusions from the first day of meetings in Abu Dhabi, and he ‌had urged Russia to show it was ready to ‌end the war. The talks were expected to resume for a final day on Saturday (January 24, 2026) morning.

Ahead of the ‍talks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday (January 23, 2026) that Russia had not dropped its insistence on Ukraine yielding all of its eastern area ‍of Donbas – Ukraine’s industrial heartland grouping the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s demand that Ukraine surrender the 20% it still holds of Donetsk — about 5,000 sq km (1,900 sq miles) — has proven a major stumbling block to any deal.

Read | Ukraine, Russia hold first direct talks on latest U.S. peace plan

Mr. Zelenskyy refuses to give up land that Russia has not been able to capture in four years of grinding, attritional warfare. Polls show little appetite among Ukrainians for ⁠territorial concessions.

Russia says it wants a diplomatic solution but will keep working to achieve its goals by military means ​as long as a negotiated solution remains elusive.

Before Saturday’s strikes, Kyiv had ⁠already endured two mass overnight attacks since the New Year that knocked out power and heating to hundreds of residential buildings. Ukraine’s deputy prime minister said on Saturday that 800,000 people in Kyiv – where temperatures were around -10 Celsius – had been left without ⁠power after the latest Russian attack.