GENEVA: Russian and Ukrainian negotiators will meet Tuesday in Geneva for fresh US-brokered talks seeking to end the four-year war, hours after both sides launched a fresh wave of long-range strikes. US President Donald Trump is seeking to position himself as peacemaker of the conflict unleashed when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, but previous rounds of talks mediated by the White House have yielded no breakthroughs. Before the meetings began Ukraine accused Russia of undermining peace efforts by launching 29 missiles and 396 drones in attacks that authorities said killed one, wounded others and cut power to tens of thousands. &quot;The extent to which Russia disregards peace efforts: a massive missile and drone strike against Ukraine right before the next round of talks in Geneva,&quot; Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga wrote on social media. He repeated Ukraine&#39;s call for allies to exert greater pressure on Russia to negotiate in good faith by applying more sanctions on Moscow. The talks, which the Kremlin said will be held behind closed doors and with no media present, come after two earlier rounds held this year in Abu Dhabi. &quot;Ukraine better come to the table, fast,&quot; Trump told reporters ahead of the negotiations. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his team had already arrived in Geneva on Monday, while a source with the Russian delegation confirmed Tuesday that their team had touched down in the Swiss city in the early hours. Russia meanwhile claimed to have repelled more than 150 Ukrainian drones mainly over southern regions and Crimean peninsula, occupied by the Kremlin in 2014. Officials said an oil depot in southern Russia caught fire. &nbsp;Sticking points&nbsp; The war has spiralled into Europe&#39;s deadliest conflict since World War II, with hundreds of thousands killed, millions forced to flee their homes in Ukraine and much of the eastern and southern part of the country scarred by war. Russia occupies around one-fifth of Ukraine -- including the Crimean peninsula it seized in 2014 -- and areas that Moscow-backed separatists had taken prior to the 2022 invasion. It wants Ukrainian troops to withdraw from swathes of heavily fortified and strategic territory as part of any peace deal. Kyiv has rejected this deeply unpopular demand, which would be politically and militarily fraught, and has instead demanded robust security guarantees from the west before agreeing to any proposals with Russia. Russia&#39;s better-resourced army has been making steady gains across the sprawling front line in the eastern and southern Ukraine in recent months. But Ukrainian forces have recently made significant battlefield gains, recapturing 201 square kilometres (78 square miles) last week, according to an AFP analysis of data from the Institute for the Study of War. The counterattacks likely leveraged Russian forces&#39; lack of access to Starlink, which has disrupted communications, the ISW said. The territorial gain is concentrated mainly around 80 kilometres east of the city of Zaporizhzhia, a region that Moscow claims is part of Russia, and where its troops have made significant progress since last summer. The centrally located region hosts Europe&#39;s largest nuclear power plant, which Russia currently controls -- another sticking point in negotiations. For the talks in Geneva, the Kremlin has reinstated nationalist hawk and former culture minister Vladimir Medinsky as its lead negotiator. &quot;This time, we plan to discuss a broader set of issues, focusing on key ones related to the territories and other demands,&quot; a spokesperson for President Vladimir Putin told reporters, including AFP, explaining the personnel change. Kyiv&#39;s team will be led by national security chief Rustem Umerov, while the White House is expected to dispatch Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump&#39;s son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Europe

Negotiating teams from Russia and Ukraine are set to meet in Geneva, Switzerland, in an effort to bring an end to the four-year long war between their countries.

Moscow, Kyiv meet for US-brokered talks after fresh attacks

KYIV: Ukraine said on Tuesday that Russia was undermining peace efforts by launching dozens of missiles and hundreds of drones ahead of talks in Geneva aimed at ending Russia&#39;s four-year invasion. &quot;The extent to which Russia disregards peace efforts: a massive missile and drone strike against Ukraine right before the next round of talks in Geneva,&quot; Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga wrote on social media. The Ukrainian air force said Russia had launched 29 missiles and 396 drones in attacks that local officials said targeted critical infrastructure.

The Ukranian FM has lamented Russia's attack ahead of peace talks

Russia 'disregards peace efforts' with overnight attack before talks: Ukraine FM

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia, the main backer of Yemen&#39;s internationally recognized government, said Thursday that Yemeni separatists should return territory seized recently, adding that it seeks to de-escalate tensions within the government camp. The separatist Southern Transitional Council is part of Yemen&#39;s internationally recognised government, a patchwork of groups held together by their opposition to the Iran-backed Houthis,&nbsp; which rule much of the country&#39;s north. This month, the UAE-backed STC, which seeks to revive the formerly independent state of South Yemen, swept through swathes of the country, expelling other government forces and their allies in a move that sparked fears of secession and further instability. &quot;The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia points out that the military movements in the governorates of (Hadramawt and Al-Mahra), recently conducted by the Southern Transitional Council, were carried out unilaterally, and without the approval of the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) nor in coordination with the Coalition&#39;s leadership,&quot; the Saudi foreign ministry said in a statement. &quot;These movements resulted in an unjustified escalation that harmed the interests of the Yemeni people with all of its segments,&quot; it added. &quot;The Kingdom remains hopeful that the public interest will prevail through ending the escalation by the Southern Transitional Council and the withdrawal of its forces from the two governorate in an urgent and orderly manner,&quot; it added. A Saudi-Emirati military delegation visited Aden for talks earlier this month to ask the STC to return the two provinces it recently seized, the statement said, adding that Saudi efforts for de-escalation were ongoing. A source close to the STC had told AFP at the time that the delegation asked them to withdraw from the newly-seized territory but that the group refused. Yemen&#39;s government and the eight-member PLC that heads it are split between figures backed by the kingdom, and the separatists and their allies, who are backed by the United Arab Emirates. The 11-year war in Yemen has pitted the Iran-backed rebels against the internationally-recognised government, backed by a Saudi-led coalition that includes the UAE.

Tensions rise between rival factions in Yemen's anti-Houthi coalition as Saudi Arabia pushes back against UAE-supported separatists [File: AFP]

Middle East

Saudi Arabia, the main backer of Yemen's internationally recognized government, said Thursday that Yemeni separatists should return territory seized recently, adding that it seeks to de-escalate tensions within the government camp.

Articles tagged with "Conflict"

Moscow, Kyiv meet for US-brokered talks after fresh attacks

Russia 'disregards peace efforts' with overnight attack before talks: Ukraine FM

Saudi Arabia urges Yemen separatists to cede seized territory

Moscow, Kyiv meet for US-brokered talks after fresh attacks