Russia-Ukraine peace talks to resume in Abu Dhabi

Negotiators from Russia, Ukraine and the United States are due to meet in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday for a second round of talks aimed at exploring a possible end to the war in Ukraine, despite a renewed wave of Russian airstrikes on its neighbour.

The first round of trilateral talks took place in mid-January, while a follow-up meeting scheduled for last Sunday was postponed.

Ukraine's delegation in the United Arab Emirates is again expected to be led by National Security and Defence Council Secretary Rustem Umerov.

The Kremlin said there would be no changes to the Russian delegation, which includes the head of the GRU military intelligence service, Igor Kostyukov, and other senior officers. The talks are scheduled to last until Thursday.

Ahead of the meeting, Russia resumed attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, with authorities reporting overnight strikes across several regions on Tuesday. The bombardment once again left millions of people without electricity and heating during bitter winter temperatures and disrupted ongoing repairs to the network.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Moscow of violating a limited ceasefire brokered by the US and demanded a response from Washington. Kiev is at the mercy of US President Donald Trump's good will as it hopes to secure US security guarantees and cannot cancel the talks, he said.