KYIV:&nbsp;Russia fired scores of missiles and drones at targets across Ukraine on Sunday, crashing into energy and rail infrastructure and residential buildings, just two days before the fourth anniversary of Russia&#39;s invasion. AFP journalists in <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/kremlin-confirms-ukraine-war-talks-this-week-in-abu-dhabi" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Kyiv</a> heard a series of blasts starting at around 4:00 am (0200 GMT), shortly after an air raid alert was issued, with the air force later widening the alert nationwide citing the threat of missiles. Energy sector&nbsp;&quot;Moscow continues to invest in strikes more than in diplomacy,&quot; <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/us-envoy-witkoff-says-meaningful-progress-made-in-ukraine-war-talks" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Ukrainian</a>&nbsp;President Volodymyr Zelensky commented on the attack on social media, saying that <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/ukraine-war-talks-to-resume-in-geneva-with-no-sign-of-progress" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Russia </a>launched about 50 missiles and 300 drones overnight.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2025485107826483440&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=5b164ab87910bb4f5fc8d41b93805f9ff7d5a429&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 873px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" data-tweet-id="2025485107826483440"></iframe></div></div>&quot;The main target of the attack was the energy sector. Ordinary residential buildings were also damaged, and there is damage to the railway.&quot; One killed, dozens wounded&nbsp;One man was killed and a dozen more people were wounded, among them four children, in and around Kyiv, Ukraine&#39;s national police said. AFP saw rescuers sifting through debris of a largely destroyed two-storey house in Sofiivska Borshchagivka in the Kyiv region. Temperatures had plunged to nearly -10C when the capital was struck, with emergency services deployed across the city. The Ukrainian capital, regularly targeted by Russian missile and drone attacks since the start of the invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, has faced waves of overnight strikes in recent weeks as Moscow has intensified its winter assaults. The Russian army said it had carried out a mass strike targeting facilities used by Ukraine&#39;s military, saying all targets were hit, in a standard comment for such attacks. Authorities in Russia&#39;s western Belgorod region said one man died after a Ukrainian drone strike. <h2 style="line-height: 2;">&#39;Act of terrorism&#39;&nbsp;</h2>The bombardment, which included ballistic and cruise missiles, prompted heightened vigilance across Ukraine, all the way to the western border. Ukraine&#39;s energy ministry said consumers in six eastern and southeastern regions were without power after the strikes. Poland&#39;s Operational Command said early Sunday it was scrambling jets after detecting &quot;long‑range aviation of the Russian Federation conducting strikes on the territory of Ukraine&quot;. In a separate attack, an explosion rocked a store in central Lviv, a western city near the Polish border far from the front line that is largely spared the worst of the conflict. Explosions ripped through a central shopping street at around midnight, killing a policewoman and wounding 25 people after officers responded to a reported break‑in. Hours later, law enforcement said it had detained a Ukrainian woman suspected in carrying out the bomb attack, without providing any further details and saying that an investigation was ongoing. &quot;This is clearly an act of terrorism,&quot; mayor Andriy Sadovyi said of the night-time assault. <h2 style="line-height: 2;">&lsquo;Definitely not losing&rsquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;</h2>Ukraine will mark four years since Russia&#39;s assault on Feb. 24, 2022, a war that has shattered towns, uprooted millions and killed large numbers on both sides. Moscow occupies close to a fifth of Ukrainian territory and continues to grind forward, especially in the eastern Donbas region, despite heavy losses and repeated Ukrainian strikes on logistics. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told AFP on Friday that Ukraine was &quot;definitely not losing&quot; the war and that victory remained the goal. US push to end the warHe said Ukrainian forces had clawed back about 300 square kilometers (116 square miles) of territory in recent counter‑attacks, gains AFP could not immediately verify. If confirmed, they would be Kyiv&#39;s most significant advances since 2023. The United States is pushing both sides to end the war, brokering several rounds of talks in recent weeks without a clear breakthrough.

Europe

One man killed and a dozen more people wounded, among them four children, in and around Kyiv, Ukraine's national police say.

Russian missile barrage hits energy, railways across Ukraine

MOSCOW: Russia has confirmed that a new round of talks with Ukraine and the United States in Abu Dhabi on ending the four-year-war will start Wednesday, after they were postponed from this weekend. Moscow blamed a scheduling issue for the delay, a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also said the negotiations would take place in the UAE capital on Wednesday and Thursday. &quot;They were indeed originally planned for this past Sunday. But additional coordination of the schedules of the three parties was needed,&quot; Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters &quot;Now, on Wednesday-Thursday, the second round will indeed take place. It will be held in Abu Dhabi. We can confirm that,&quot; he added. The talks will take place less than two weeks before the fourth anniversary of Moscow launching its full-scale offensive against Ukraine. They are expected to focus on the crucial issue of territory, with neither side so far showing any sign of a breakthrough. Washington is pushing for an end to the war between the neighbours, which has killed tens of thousands, forced millions to flee their homes and destroyed much of eastern and southern Ukraine.

A Palestinian delegation convoy drives inside the Kremlin grounds during talks between Russian President and Palestinian President in central Moscow on January 22, 2026. (AFP)

Moscow blamed a scheduling issue for the delay, a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also said the negotiations would take place in the UAE capital.

Kremlin confirms Ukraine war talks this week in Abu Dhabi

MOSCOW: Russia claimed on Saturday to have captured two more towns in eastern Ukraine, Myrnograd and Guliaipole, a day ahead of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky&#39;s meeting with US President Donald Trump.&nbsp;A Kremlin statement said Russian President Vladimir Putin had received a report from military command on &quot;the liberation of Dimitrov (the Russian name for Myrnograd) and of Guliaipole&quot;.&nbsp;Myrnograd is in the Donetsk region of Ukraine, near Pokrovsk, a key logistical hub that Russia claimed to have captured on December 1.&nbsp;Guliaipole is in the eastern part of Zaporizhzhia, where Russian advances have been more rare, but which have accelerated in recent months.&nbsp;Putin said the offensives on both areas of the front were &quot;intensifying the pressure&quot; on the Ukrainian army, in comments broadcast on television.&nbsp;Moscow&#39;s announcement of these latest advances comes a day before Zelensky is due in the United States for talks with Trump on the plan he had drawn up to stop the fighting.

Russia claimed to have captured two more towns in eastern Ukraine, Myrnograd and Guliaipole, a day ahead of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's meeting with US President Donald Trump.

Russia claims capture of two more eastern Ukraine towns

MIAMI:&nbsp;Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday called on the United States to put more pressure on Russia to end the war, as diplomats converged on Miami for fresh talks. Zelensky also said that Washington had proposed the first face-to-face negotiations between Ukraine and Russia in half a year, but later expressed skepticism that would help. Zelensky said that only the United States was capable of persuading Russia to end the war, and he called on Washington to increase pressure on Moscow to make that happen. &quot;America must clearly say: if not diplomacy, then there will be full pressure...Putin does not yet feel the kind of pressure that should exist,&quot; he said, stressing the need for more arms supplies to Ukraine and sanctions on the entire Russian economy. The Ukrainian leader&#39;s comments in Kyiv came as Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev arrived in Miami where Ukrainian and European teams have also gathered for the negotiations, mediated by US special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump&#39;s son-in-law Jared Kushner. &quot;Discussions are being held constructively,&quot; Dmitriev told reporters, according to Russian state media, adding that &quot;they started and continue today, and will also continue tomorrow.&quot; Trump&#39;s envoys have pushed a peace plan in which the United States would offer security guarantees to Ukraine, but Kyiv would likely be expected to surrender some territory, a prospect resented by many Ukrainians. However, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday promised not to force Ukraine into any agreement, saying &quot;there&#39;s no peace deal unless Ukraine agrees to it.&quot; He added that he may join Saturday&#39;s talks in Miami, his hometown. Earlier Saturday, Zelensky had revealed Washington had proposed negotiations that would include Ukraine, the United States and Russia. He added that Europeans could be present and it would be &quot;logical to hold such a joint meeting.&quot; But he subsequently told journalists, &quot;I am not sure that anything new could come of it.&quot; The last time Ukrainian and Russian envoys held official direct talks was in July in Istanbul, which led to prisoner swaps but little else. Russian and European involvement in Miami marks a step forward from before, when the Americans held separate negotiations with each side in different locations. However, it is unlikely Dmitriev would hold direct talks with European negotiators as relations between the two sides remain strained. Moscow, which invaded Ukraine in February 2022, argues that Europe&#39;s involvement in the talks only hinders any peace process. - Russia presses on -The Florida talks come after President Vladimir Putin vowed to press ahead with his military offensive in Ukraine, hailing Moscow&#39;s battlefield gains in an annual news conference on Friday. Russia announced on Saturday it had captured two villages in Ukraine&#39;s Sumy and Donetsk regions, further grinding through the country&#39;s east in costly battles. Putin however suggested that Russia could pause its devastating strikes on the country to allow Ukraine to hold a presidential ballot -- a prospect which Zelensky rejected. Meanwhile, the death toll in Ukraine&#39;s Black Sea Odesa region from an overnight Russian ballistic missile strike on port infrastructure rose to eight, with almost three dozen people wounded.A civilian bus was struck in the attack, Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said. Intensified Russian strikes have wrought havoc on the coastline region in recent weeks, hitting bridges and cutting electricity and heating for hundreds of thousands in freezing temperatures. Moscow earlier said it would expand strikes on Ukrainian ports as retaliation for targeting its sanctions-busting oil tankers. On Saturday, Ukraine claimed to have destroyed two Russian fighter jets at an airfield in occupied Crimea, according to the security service SBU. Kyiv&#39;s army said it struck a Russian oil rig in the Caspian Sea as well as a patrol ship nearby. Putin described Russia&#39;s initial invasion as a &quot;special military operation&quot; to demilitarize the country and prevent the expansion of NATO. Kyiv and its European allies say the war, the largest and deadliest on European soil since World War II, is an unprovoked and illegal land grab that has resulted in a tidal wave of violence and destruction.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged the United States to increase pressure on Russia to end the war, as diplomats met in Miami for talks amid intensified fighting and skepticism over negotiations

Articles tagged with "Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky"

Russian missile barrage hits energy, railways across Ukraine

Kremlin confirms Ukraine war talks this week in Abu Dhabi

Russia claims capture of two more eastern Ukraine towns

Zelensky says US must pile pressure on Russia to end war

Russian missile barrage hits energy, railways across Ukraine