Zelensky announces Feb. 4–5 Abu Dhabi talks with U.S., Russian envoys as strikes hit Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday’s two-day talks among U.S., Russian and Ukrainian envoys will open in Abu Dhabi, describing the latest bid to halt the Ukraine war as Russian strikes again hit civilians and critical infrastructure.
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“The dates for the next trilateral meetings have been set — February 4 and 5 in Abu Dhabi,” Zelensky wrote on X. “Ukraine is ready for a substantive discussion, and we are interested in ensuring that the outcome brings us closer to a real and dignified end to the war.”
The announcement came as a night-time Russian strike in the central Dnipropetrovsk region killed two people, authorities said. Ms. Ganzha said the drone caused a fire, destroyed a house and damaged two more residences and a car.
The Ukrainian military reported attacks along the front line as a U.S. envoy held talks on efforts to end the nearly four-year-old war. In the southern Kherson region, a Russian attack injured a 59-year-old woman who was hospitalized in critical condition with head injuries; part of her leg was severed, local officials said.
Russia has intensified assaults on Ukraine’s power and heating infrastructure through the winter, plunging towns and cities into darkness and cold as temperatures have dropped to minus 20C. Emergency crews in multiple regions have raced to restore electricity and heat between waves of strikes.
Zelensky said Moscow launched more than 6,000 drones, around 5,500 aerial bombs and 158 missiles at Ukraine in January, primarily targeting the energy sector. “We are recording Russian attempts to destroy logistics and connectivity between cities and communities,” he said, urging allies to accelerate deliveries of air defense systems and F-16 fighter jets.
Kyiv has pressed partners for additional interceptors and longer-range capabilities to blunt Russia’s campaign against energy facilities and transport nodes. Ukrainian officials say layered air defenses — including Patriots, NASAMS and modern fighter jets — are essential to protect cities and maintain the flow of supplies to the front.
Few details were immediately available about the Abu Dhabi format beyond the participation of envoys from the United States, Russia and Ukraine. Zelensky framed the talks as a step toward a “real and dignified” conclusion to the conflict, though previous negotiations have repeatedly stalled amid continuing Russian attacks and Ukraine’s insistence that any settlement must safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The planned meetings underscore a dual track now familiar in the war: diplomatic contacts that aim to reduce the intensity of fighting, and daily battlefield realities that continue to extract a civilian toll. With winter deepening and energy infrastructure under sustained pressure, Kyiv is likely to make air defense and humanitarian protections central to its case in Abu Dhabi.
As the talks approach, Ukrainian officials warned that Russia’s campaign against power stations and distribution lines is designed to stretch repairs, sap public services and complicate troop movements. The push for more Western air defenses — alongside calls for F-16s — reflects Kyiv’s bet that better protection over cities and critical nodes can both save lives and strengthen its position at any negotiating table.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
