The mayor of Ukrainian capital Kyiv said one person had died and four had been wounded while Kharkiv’s mayor reported that 19 people had been hurt during a sustained assault on the city in the early hours of Saturday morning.
On the second day of the three-way talks in Abu Dhabi, Sybiha said the “barbaric” overnight assault proved “that Putin’s place is not at the board of peace, but at the dock of the special tribunal”.
US President Donald Trump said last week that Russian leader Vladimir Putin had accepted an invitation to join his ‘Board of Peace’ – an organisation focused on ending global conflicts. Putin has not confirmed this.
Kyiv’s mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram that three of the four people who had been injured had been hospitalised.
He added that the capital’s critical infrastructure had been damaged, leaving 6,000 buildings without heating.
Temperatures in Ukraine are at sub-zero levels and in a statement following the assaults, President Volodymyr Zelensky said: “The main target of the Russians was the energy infrastructure.”
In Kharkiv, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said 19 people had been injured during the strikes in the early hours of Saturday morning. A maternity hospital and a hostel for displaced people were damaged.
Russia occupies roughly 20% of Ukraine, including parts of the eastern Donbas region. The Kremlin wants Ukraine to hand over large areas of the territory. Ukraine has ruled this out.
Following the first day of talks, Rustem Umerov, who is leading the Ukrainian delegation, said on social media: “The meeting focused on the parameters for ending Russia’s war and the further logic of the negotiation process aimed at advancing toward a dignified and lasting peace.”