Russian forces struck six major electricity substations across four central Ukrainian regions on Wednesday, according to Ukrainian Prime Minister Sergii Koretskyi, as peace talks resumed in Abu Dhabi.
Strikes on the grid
Koretskyi reported the attacks on the substations as well as strikes on railway infrastructure, as diplomats from Russia, Ukraine and the United States sat down for a second day of negotiations in the United Arab Emirates. The strikes came a day after the first round of talks, which Kyiv and Washington described as constructive.
A familiar pattern
Attacks on Ukraine’s power grid have been a recurring feature of the war, with Kyiv reporting repeated strikes on energy infrastructure in the run-up to winter. The grid was hit again just before the Abu Dhabi round opened, and the latest strikes continue that pattern even as diplomats talk. Monday’s talks in Abu Dhabi were the first direct three-way meeting between the warring sides since February, and the war has continued without pause while the negotiations go on. With winter approaching, the state of the power network is likely to remain one of the most closely watched measures of the war’s civilian cost.
The Ukrainian delegation in Abu Dhabi is led by Rustem Umerov, head of the Foreign Intelligence Service, and the American team by President Donald Trump’s special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. Russia’s delegation is headed by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky.
What the talks are about
The negotiations cover a possible ceasefire, postwar security guarantees for Ukraine, humanitarian measures including prisoner exchanges and the return of Ukrainian children taken from Ukraine, economic recovery and the future security structure of Europe. Russia continues to demand the entire Donbas region, including territory it has not captured, while Ukraine refuses to give up land.
Related reading: Ukraine Power Grid Strikes as Abu Dhabi Talks Open and Abu Dhabi Trilateral Ukraine Peace Talks Open
