Ukraine says 1 killed, over 20 injured in Kyiv, Kharkiv amid trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi
Fires due to Russian airstrikes broke out in multiple areas of capital as well as in Ukraine’s second-largest city, say local authorities
ISTANBUL
Ukraine said on Saturday that at least one person was killed and 23 others were injured in Russian airstrikes on the capital Kyiv and the northeastern city of Kharkiv, even as trilateral peace negotiations take place in the United Arab Emirates.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram that fires broke out at various buildings in several districts of the city due to the overnight attack.
“Currently, one person is known to have died and four injured. Three of the injured have been hospitalized,” Klitschko said, adding that there are interruptions in heat and water supply on the city’s left bank.
In Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, Mayor Ihor Terekhov reported fires at apartment buildings and said a hospital and a maternity hospital were also damaged.
He said the city’s Industrialnyi and Nemyshlianskyi districts were the “hardest hit areas” in an attack by 25 Russian drones.
Terekhov reported that seven people were injured, later saying the number rose to 19.
Later, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on US social media platform X that every Russian strike on his country's energy infrastructure proves there must be no delays in other countries supplying Ukraine with air defenses.
"We are counting on the reaction and assistance of all our partners. Every missile for Patriot, NASAMS [short- to medium-range ground-based air defense system], and all other systems helps protect critical infrastructure and enables people to endure the winter cold. We must ensure full implementation of everything agreed with (US) President (Donald) Trump in Davos regarding air defense," he added, referring to this week’s World Economic Forum meeting in Switzerland.
Ukraine's Air Force claimed on Telegram that the country's air defenses shot down 357 out of 375 drones, as well as 15 out of 21 missiles, launched by Russia overnight.
Russian authorities have not yet commented on the attacks.
The reports came after Russia, Ukraine, and the US on Friday concluded the first of two days of trilateral talks in the Emirati capital Adu Dhabi.
Rustem Umerov, the head of Ukraine's delegation at the talks, said on US social media platform Facebook that the negotiations are focused on the parameters for ending the conflict with “a dignified and lasting peace.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told state news agency Tass that efforts to resolve the war are “progressing,” stressing the importance of implementing what he called the “Anchorage formula,” a reference to a meeting last August in the US state of Alaska between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
