The Russians used a rare weapon last night. Kiev denounces Putin's “barbaric and cynical attack” during peace talks
the launch of a Zircon missile from the Admiral Gorskov frigate, Photo: east2west news / WillWest News / Profimedia
Russia's latest strikes on Ukraine came after negotiators from the two warring countries and the United States wrapped up the first day of two talks in the United Arab Emirates.
Delegations from the three countries met in Abu Dhabi in an attempt to find a solution to the war that has lasted almost four years.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sîbiga on Saturday accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of “cynically” ordering a massive missile strike while negotiations are underway.
“This barbaric attack proves once again that Putin's place is not at the table of peace negotiations, but in the accused's box of the special court,” said Sîbiga.
US-mediated talks between Ukraine and Russia resumed in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said senior representatives of Ukraine's armed forces and military intelligence services would join Saturday's talks.
New large-scale attack
Russia launched another large-scale attack on Ukraine's power system at dawn on Saturday, rocking Kiev with explosions throughout the night and leaving 1.2 million properties without power across the country.
Almost 6,000 buildings in the capital remained without heating on Saturday morning, when temperatures hovered around -10 degrees Celsius. Many residents' apartments were already frozen due to disruption of the city's centralized heat distribution system following previous attacks.
According to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, one person was killed in the capital and four were injured, three of whom are hospitalized, while 19 people, including a child, were injured in Ukraine's second city, Kharkiv.
More than 800,000 people in the capital and another 400,000 in the northern Chernihiv region were left without electricity after the latest attacks, Deputy Prime Minister Oleksii Kuleba said.
Ukraine's air force said Russia launched 375 drones and 21 missiles, including two of its rarely used Zircon ballistic missiles, in its overnight attack.
