What happened overnight
Russia launched a major attack on Kyiv and nearby regions overnight into Saturday, using 172 drones and 36 ballistic missiles, according to The Guardian. The strikes hit electricity substations and a bridge over the Dnipro River.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the capital faced serious difficulties with electricity, water and heating, and that five people were hurt, including a 14-year-old girl. Headlines from other outlets cited in the source material put the number of wounded at nine, so the casualty count may differ by report.
The substations targeted were spread across five regions. One of them connects two nuclear power plants to Kyiv. The city's Northern Bridge, a key transport route, was closed on Saturday while crews repaired damage to the road surface and power lines.
Russia's defence ministry said its strikes early Saturday were aimed at energy and transport targets. Euronews, in a headline cited in the source, reported Zelenskyy as saying North Korean missiles were fired at a key Ukrainian energy facility.
A hard week for Kyiv residents
The attack follows a difficult week in the capital, where residents have lived with day-long power cuts and interruptions to their water supply. Zelenskyy said Moscow was trying to “plunge Kyiv and the entire country into a blackout.”
Ukrainian officials say the Kremlin's aim is to freeze civilians into submission during the winter months, which they describe as a war crime. According to The Guardian, Russia has sharply increased air attacks on Ukrainian cities since the summer, as its progress on the frontline has stalled. Kyiv says Russia lost 54,000 troops, killed or injured, last month, the highest monthly figure of the war.
Talks in Abu Dhabi
Negotiators from Russia, Ukraine and the United States are due to meet Tuesday and Wednesday in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates, for talks aimed at ending the war. Zelenskyy said Moscow's preparation for the talks involved pounding a city of millions with ballistic missiles.
He also appealed to the US Congress, which the Democrats won in the midterm elections, to give Ukraine more attention. “Ukraine must not be left alone. We are counting on increased bilateral support from the US,” he said.
Ukrainian officials have little confidence the talks will produce concrete results, according to The Guardian.
Dispute over a European security framework
In a CNN interview, Zelenskyy described the latest blueprint from Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law, as “Yalta 2.0,” a reference to the 1945 summit of Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill that divided postwar Europe. Kushner said in social media posts that the discussions would cover a new security framework for Europe alongside guarantees for Ukraine. The Guardian said this appears to point to the Kremlin's longstanding demand that Nato's expansion be reversed.
Trump said on Friday that a “big beautiful agreement” could be close, involving “all of Europe.” Shortly before invading Ukraine, Vladimir Putin demanded that Nato return to its pre-1997 posture, before the Baltic states and countries in eastern Europe and the Balkans joined.
Zelenskyy said: “The idea of discussing European-Russian security infrastructure is not simple, and it can be dangerous.” He added: “We don’t want to be divided by Russia.” In his view, Moscow must first end its war and Ukraine must receive meaningful security guarantees. Only then, “depending on the answers,” could a wider security architecture be considered. Western diplomats say accepting Russia's demands would effectively end Nato, according to The Guardian.
