Russia sent a “message written in fire”. Attack on Kyiv “complicates everything”
Kyiv Post reporters who spent the night in the shelters describe the shelling as “very, very intense.” One correspondent adds gloomily: “I assume that the situation after this attack will be extremely difficult.”
The moment it happened is clear.
— During ongoing negotiations, Moscow is sending a message written in fire, comments a senior European diplomat in Washington anonymously. — This is how the Kremlin conducts negotiations – with missiles.
Meaghan Mobbs, daughter of former Trump envoy Keith Kellogg, shared a similar opinion in a social media post:
“With ongoing negotiations in Abu Dhabi, it's hard not to read this as a signal of Russia's intentions for peace. I'm left guessing at what point such behavior will anger the US president so much that he will decide to redouble his efforts and provide significant assistance to Ukraine.”
City under fire
“Kiev is subject to a powerful enemy attack,” Mayor Vitali Klitschko wrote on Telegram as explosions rang out in the capital.
According to officials, in the early morning (Saturday), Russian drones struck several areas (districts of Kiev), air defense units fired almost continuously, and the authorities warned about the potential threat of ballistic missiles. Residents were advised to stay in shelters.
Klitschko reported attacks on two areas on opposite sides of the Dnieper River. After hitting a building in the Hołosiejów area (in the south of the city), fires broke out, prompting the mayor to send medical teams to the site.
Ukrainian rescue services extinguishing a fire at the site of a Russian airstrike, Kiev, Ukraine, January 24, 2026.OLEKSANDR MAGULA / AFP / AFP
Additional damage was reported in the Desno, Dnieper and Solomansk regions (on the right side of the Dnieper).
According to Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kiev's military administration, Moscow hit at least three areas and fires broke out in two places. He warned that drones were circling over the city and “there was a threat of the use of Russian missiles.”
The Ukrainian Air Force confirmed that the capital was “massively attacked” by Russian drones and that air defense systems were activated.
The attack spread beyond Kyiv. The mayor of Kharkiv, Ihor Terekhov, confirmed that in this second largest Ukrainian city, Russian drones attacked several areas, injuring several people and hitting at least three residential buildings.
— These are not military targets. This is pressure on civilians – pressure against diplomacy — another Western diplomat comments anonymously.
The attacks come as Kiev sinks deeper into its worst winter energy crisis since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Massive power outages, water and heat shortages, and constant attacks on the power grid have plunged large parts of the city into cold and darkness.
— Russia is trying to freeze Ukraine to force it to surrender – says a European diplomat. — And signal to Abu Dhabi that it still has the cards to escalate the conflict – he adds.
Conversations in the desert
The overnight bombing came just hours after Ukraine, Russia and the United States began trilateral talks hosted by the United Arab Emirates. The aim of the two-day meetings in Abu Dhabi, which began on Friday, is to outline a path to ending the war that has been going on for almost four years, and one of the main points of the agenda is territorial concessions in eastern Ukraine.
President Volodymyr Zelensky called the talks “a step — hopefully toward ending the war,” but tried not to raise too high expectations.
The Russian delegation is led by General Igor Kostyukov, director of the GRU military intelligence agency.
The Ukrainian team is led by Rustem Umerov, secretary of the National Security and Defense Council and former defense minister.
Umerov presented a detailed description of the opening session. “The meeting focused on the parameters for ending Russia's war and the further logic of the negotiation process aimed at achieving a dignified and lasting peace,” he wrote on X. Further sessions have already been planned, with additional Ukrainian generals taking part on Saturday.
“After each stage, we submit a report to the President of Ukraine,” Umerov added. “We are ready to work in various formats, depending on the course of the dialogue.”
The American side is represented by special envoy Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, Josh Gruenbaum, General Daniel Driscoll and NATO General Alexus Grynkewich.
A US official involved in the talks, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the timing of the attack “complicates everything.”
Signals in the sky
Behind the scenes, Ukraine's allies are already preparing for what might come when the gunfire finally dies down – if it ever does.
The EU and the US are considering allocating up to USD 800 billion. () from public and private funds for the reconstruction of Ukraine. The European Commission's plan sets out an investment target and a 10-year accelerated path for Ukraine's accession to the EU, in line with Washington's 20-point peace plan.
However, all this depends on a ceasefire, which remains unattainable.
— Everyone wants to talk about reconstruction. But first the missiles must stop falling, says one senior EU diplomat.
So far, that hasn't happened.
“This is Russia's negotiating position,” another European diplomat comments. — First they bomb, then they negotiate.
