Russia attacks Ukraine hours after Abu Dhabi peace talks end

The Kremlin continued its onslaught of Ukraine just hours after peace talks in Abu Dhabi ended, attacking Kyiv with ballistic missiles and 123 attack drones Thursday. Ukraine reportedly shot down 94 attack drones and no missiles, while one person was killed in Kyiv and five were injured, Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said.

Emergency services also reported fires in the Rivne and Zhytomyr regions. Russia's defense ministry claimed responsibility for the attack and said it was targeting drone production sites and electricity substations. Moscow also reported shooting down some 70 Ukrainian drones over eight regions overnight.

Talks Deadlocked

The mutual attacks came hours after Russia and Ukraine concluded another round of trilateral peace talks, mediated by the United States. While both sides agreed to prepare another major prisoner swap, other issues, including territory and Europe's participation in future talks, reportedly caused heated debates at the negotiating table.

Territorial Dispute

A member of the Ukrainian delegation, David Arakhamia, described negotiations as some of the toughest yet, saying the Russians made strict demands and left little room for compromise. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said territory remained one of the many topics discussed during the latest round.

Zelenskyy revealed that U.S. mediators proposed solutions for the territorial spat, mainly in the Donbas region. "The idea was something like this: If the war were to stop along the current front line, then parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions could subsequently be administratively transferred to the jurisdiction of a different oblast," a senior official told POLITICO.

"This does not mean that Ukraine will ever recognize the occupied territories as Russian," the official added, as both sides remain far apart on core issues despite ongoing diplomatic efforts.