Diplomatic efforts to end Ukraine war gain momentum
Russian drone and missile attacks in and around Ukraine’s capital killed at least three people as the country’s representatives traveled to the United States to work on a renewed initiative to end the war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy wrote to
A US delegation is then expected to travel to Moscow in the second half of next week to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Kiev City Military Administration said two people were killed in attacks on the capital early Saturday, while a woman was killed and eight others were injured in a combined missile and drone attack on a large area of Kiev, according to regional police.
Mayor Vitali Klitschko stated that 29 people were injured in Kiev and noted that the falling debris of stopped Russian unmanned aerial vehicles hit residential buildings. He also said that the western part of Kiev was losing power.
US President Donald Trump last week announced a plan to end the nearly four-year war.
The 28-point proposal was largely in Russia’s favor and encouraged Zelenskiy to quickly contact American negotiators.
European leaders, fearful for their own future in the face of Russian aggression, have sought to direct negotiations to address their concerns.
Trump said his plan to end the war was “fine-tuned” and that he would send envoy Steve Witkoff to Russia to meet with Putin.
He eventually said he might meet with Putin and Zelenskiy, but not until more progress was made in the negotiations.
Trump administration officials were meeting with their Ukrainian counterparts in Florida this weekend.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner will attend the meeting, according to a US official who requested anonymity to disclose details of the meeting that have not been made public.
Zelenskiy will go to Paris on Monday to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron.
Macron’s office said the two leaders “will discuss the situation and the conditions for a just and lasting peace, in parallel with the Geneva discussions and the American plan, and in close coordination with our European partners.”
A large oil terminal near the port of Novorossiysk in Russia stopped its operations on Saturday after an attack by unmanned boats damaged one of the terminal’s three mooring points, according to a statement from the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), which owns the terminal.
Andriy Kovalenko, Head of the Counter-Disinformation Center of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, confirmed that Ukraine carried out the attack.
He wrote in Telegram: “Ukrainian special forces worked on the Russian Federation, its energy sector and infrastructure. In particular, marine drones managed to destroy one of the three oil tanker piers in the Novorossiysk region of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium.”
Ukraine’s months-long long-range drone attacks on Russian refineries and terminals were aimed at depriving Moscow of the oil export revenue it needs to continue the war.
Meanwhile, Kiev and its western allies say Russia is trying to cripple Ukraine’s power grid and deny civilians access to heat, light and running water for the fourth consecutive winter in what Ukrainian officials call “weaponizing” the bitter cold.
Ukraine used domestically produced Sea Baby naval drones to hit two oil tankers in the Black Sea that were said to be part of Russia’s sanctions-evading “shadow fleet,” said a Ukrainian security service official from the SBU, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of their operations.
Tankers Kairos and Virat were hit repeatedly late on Friday afternoon and rescue operations were launched. The crew on both ships were reported to be safe.
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