Ukraine condemned a fresh wave of Russian air strikes early on Saturday that killed one person and injured at least 23 others, striking Kyiv and Kharkiv and crippling energy infrastructure, even as delegations from Ukraine, Russia and the United States continued talks in Abu Dhabi aimed at ending the war.
The overnight attacks triggered renewed power and heating outages across large parts of the Ukrainian capital amid freezing temperatures, underscoring the gap between diplomatic efforts and the reality on the ground.
“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,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on X.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 375 drones and 21 missiles in coordinated strikes on the country’s two largest cities. One person was killed and at least 23 others were injured, officials said, while energy facilities were again among the main targets.
The bombardment came as Ukrainian and Russian negotiators met in Abu Dhabi on Friday alongside U.S. representatives to discuss a possible end to the nearly four-year war. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said it was too early to draw conclusions from the first day of talks and urged Russia to demonstrate that it was prepared to end the conflict. Negotiations were expected to resume for a final day on Saturday.
Energy Crisis Deepens Amid Freezing Temperatures
The latest strikes have intensified pressure on Ukraine’s already strained power system. Nearly 6,000 buildings in Kyiv were left without heating following the overnight attack, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. Temperatures in the capital dropped to minus 12 degrees Celsius (10.4 degrees Fahrenheit) on Saturday morning.
Ukraine’s energy minister said earlier this week that the power grid had suffered its most difficult day since November 2022, when Russia began large-scale attacks on energy infrastructure that caused widespread blackouts.
At Kyiv’s zoo, staff have been working around the clock to keep animals alive amid the cold. Generators run continuously to heat enclosures housing animals including horses, bison, an elephant and Tony, a 51-year-old gorilla.
A 51-year-old gorilla Tony seats next to a wood stove, which heats his enclosure, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in a zoo in Kyiv, Ukraine January 22, 2026. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich
Klitschko renewed his call on Friday for residents to seek temporary shelter outside the city amid fears of further strikes, an option unavailable to the zoo’s animals.
Staff member Viktoriia Sluzhenko said the zoo maintains water reserves sufficient to meet the elephant’s daily requirement of 150 litres.
“The responsibility of keeping other living creatures alive takes a heavy toll,” said Trantin, a zoo staffer, as the war approaches its fourth year with no sign of abating.
East African striped hyena gather in an aviary, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in zoo in Kyiv, Ukraine January 22, 2026. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich
Donetsk Remains Central Obstacle in Talks
Diplomatic efforts remain stalled over territorial demands, particularly in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region. Kyiv is under growing pressure from Washington to reach a peace agreement following Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, while Moscow insists Ukraine must cede its entire eastern industrial heartland before fighting can end.
A senior aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday, following talks between Putin and U.S. envoys, that there was no prospect of a deal unless disagreements over territory were resolved.
The main sticking point remains Donetsk, one of the two regions that make up Donbas. Russian forces control nearly all of neighbouring Luhansk, but Ukraine still holds about 20%—roughly 5,000 square kilometres (1,900 square miles)—of Donetsk, despite sustained Russian offensives.
FILE PHOTO: A local resident walks along a damaged street, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in the town of Siversk, Donetsk region, Ukraine March 5, 2023. REUTERS/Alex Babenko/File Photo
Zelenskiy has rejected any suggestion of handing over the territory, saying he sees no reason to “gift” land to Putin. Areas still under Ukrainian control include Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, heavily fortified “fortress cities” surrounded by trenches, bunkers, minefields and anti-tank obstacles.
Ukrainian officials say the cities are critical to defending the rest of the country, as flatter terrain west of Donetsk would allow Russian forces to advance more easily toward the eastern bank of the Dnipro River.
Zelenskiy has warned that surrendering full control of Donetsk would give Russia a base from which to rearm and launch future assaults deeper into Ukraine, even after any peace deal is signed.
As talks continue in Abu Dhabi, Ukrainian officials say the latest strikes have cast doubt on Moscow’s commitment to ending the war.
Source: Reuters
