US and Russian officials to hold talks in Abu Dhabi after overnight strikes
Russia and Ukraine launched drone strikes on each other overnight as the United States confirmed American officials were preparing to meet Russian representatives in Abu Dhabi as part of efforts to end the war.
Officials in Kiev said at least six people were killed in Russia’s attacks on the city, while Russian officials said at least three people were killed in its attack in Ukraine’s Rostov region.
The latest attacks came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy welcomed the proposed changes The controversial 28-point US peace plan.
On Sunday, US and Ukrainian officials met in Geneva to discuss the draft plan, which has been criticized by leaders in Kiev and Europe as being favorable to Russia.
Ukraine’s European allies apparently produced a modified version of the plan after rejecting parts suitable for Russia’s war purposes.
“Now the list of steps necessary to end the war can become feasible,” Zelensky said on Monday. he said. “A lot of the right elements were incorporated into this framework.”
Ukraine’s national security chief Rustam Umerov said Kiev was “looking forward” to organizing Zelensky’s visit to the United States “at the earliest convenient date in November” to strike a deal with US President Donald Trump.
A Kremlin official rejected the changes as “completely unconstructive.” But on Tuesday, a US official told the BBC that his team would meet Russian representatives in Abu Dhabi to discuss the plan further.
separately virtual “Coalition of Volunteers” British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said a meeting would be held with Ukraine’s European allies on Tuesday to discuss developments.
EPAThe latest round of talks came after Russia and Ukraine exchanged strikes overnight.
Kyiv’s military administration chief Timur Tkachenko said a fire broke out in a high-rise apartment building in the Dniprovskyi district, requiring the evacuation of residents.
Emergency services teams arriving at the scene reported that 18 people, including 3 children, were rescued, and that the search for the injured continued after the fire was taken under control.
Residents of a high-rise apartment building in the city’s central Pechersk district were also evacuated after it was set on fire during the strikes, according to Kiev mayor Vitali Klitschko.
He added that there was damage to the upper floors of the building, but the fire was extinguished.
Ukraine’s air defense units responded to the attack after explosions were heard across Kiev and residents were called to take shelter in underground car parks and shelters.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Energy also confirmed a “massive, combined enemy attack” on the country’s energy infrastructure facilities.
According to Zelensky, 22 missiles and more than 460 drones were launched into Ukraine overnight; four of them crossed into Moldavian and Romanian airspace.
The death toll from Ukraine’s attack in Russia’s Rostov region has risen to three after initial reports of one death, officials said.
According to Yuri Sliusar, acting governor of Russia’s Rostov region, two people died in hospital.
One of the deaths was reported in the city of Taganrog, where mayor Svetlana Kambulova promised “necessary response measures.”
10 people were injured in the attacks.
In the southern Krasnodar region, Governor Veniamin Kondratyev described Ukraine’s overnight bombardment as “one of the most sustained and major attacks of the Kiev regime.”
The proposed peace plan drawn up by US and Russian officials last month had caused great consternation in Ukraine and its European allies, who said it favored the Kremlin.
But White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt rejected the idea that the Trump administration “is not dealing equally with both sides in this war.”
Following the conclusion of talks between the US and Ukraine in Geneva, Trump said “something good might be happening” but added: “Don’t believe it until you see it.”
Welcoming the proposed changes, Zelensky said that the “real problem” was Putin’s demand for legal recognition of the territories seized by Russia.
The counter-offers, reportedly prepared by Britain, France and Germany, excluded recognition of Russian-held territories, increased Ukraine’s permitted army size and left the door open for Ukraine to join NATO.
Russia has consistently demanded Ukraine’s complete withdrawal from the entire eastern Donbas, consisting of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Moscow forces also control Crimea and large parts of two other regions, Kherson and Zaporizhia.
The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said the final peace plan should make it impossible for Moscow to invade again and that Russia “absolutely” should not rejoin the G8.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today program on Tuesday, he said: “We can’t go back to business as usual… how can you imagine that?”
Tens of thousands of soldiers and thousands of civilians have been killed or injured, and millions of people have fled their homes since February 2022, when Russia’s large-scale invasion began.
