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Ukraine is seeking a direct meeting between President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin in a bid to revive slow-moving US-led peace talks, the country’s top diplomat said. Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Kyiv believes a face-to-face summit could help bring fresh momentum to diplomatic efforts aimed at ending Russia’s invasion, which has been ongoing for more than four years. At the same time, Russian officials reported that a Ukrainian drone strike hit a residential building deep inside Russia, killing a woman and a child. Ukraine has asked Turkey to help arrange the high-level talks and has contacted other countries as possible hosts. Kyiv said it is open to holding the meeting in any country except Russia and Belarus. “We are advocating for a summit now to inject new energy into diplomacy,” Sybiha told reporters. Talks mediated by the United States over the past year between Russian and Ukrainian representatives have made little progress on key issues, including the fate of four Ukrainian regions that Moscow claims but does not fully control. With Washington now focused on tensions involving Iran, the peace process has largely stalled. Zelenskyy has agreed to an unconditional ceasefire proposed by US President Donald Trump, but Putin has rejected it. Analysts say Moscow believes time is on its side, expecting Western support for Ukraine to weaken over time. Fighting continues along a roughly 1,250-kilometer front line stretching across eastern and southern Ukraine, with heavy losses reported on both sides. Western officials estimate that Russia is suffering tens of thousands of casualties each month, though such figures cannot be independently confirmed. Ukraine has also expanded its domestic arms production, developing long-range drones and missiles capable of hitting targets deep inside Russia, including oil and military-related facilities. In the Russian city of Syzran, about 800 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, a drone strike caused part of a residential building to collapse. Authorities said the bodies of a woman and a child were recovered from the debris, while 12 others were injured. Images from the scene showed a section of the four-story building reduced to rubble as rescue workers searched through the wreckage. Reports said a Rosneft refinery, often targeted in Ukrainian strikes, is located on the same street. Russian officials say Ukraine’s drone attacks have surged sharply, rising from around 6,200 in 2024 to over 23,000 in 2025.

Russia carried out a large-scale drone and missile attack on civilian areas across Ukraine, killing at least four people and injuring 27 others, officials said Tuesday, amid indications that Moscow may be launching a new spring offensive. Ukraine’s air force said Russia fired nearly 400 long-range drones overnight in one of the biggest attacks in recent weeks. The assault continued into Tuesday morning, with dozens of drones targeting the capital, Kyiv, even during daylight hours. In addition, Russia launched 23 cruise missiles and seven ballistic missiles overnight, hitting at least 10 locations across the country. Ukraine has been facing constant attacks since Russia began its full-scale invasion more than four years ago. Efforts to reach a ceasefire through US-led talks have failed, while the ongoing Iran conflict has shifted global focus away from Ukraine. Along the roughly 1,250-kilometre front line in eastern and southern Ukraine, Ukrainian forces are preparing for increased attacks as weather conditions improve. Army chief Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi said Russian troops have recently tried to break through defenses in several key areas. “Intense fighting is ongoing along the entire front line,” Syrskyi said, adding that Russia launched 619 attacks over four days. He noted that Ukraine has sent reinforcements to counter the assaults. The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War said recent developments suggest Russia’s spring-summer offensive is already underway, with increased troop deployments and heavier equipment near the front lines. Despite stepping up attacks, Russia has so far made only limited territorial gains and currently controls about 20% of Ukraine, including Crimea, which it annexed in 2014. Facing a shortage of troops, Ukraine has relied heavily on advanced drone technology. Kyiv is also seeking to exchange its battlefield drone expertise with Western and Gulf partners for much-needed air defence systems.Meanwhile, Russia said it intercepted 55 Ukrainian drones overnight over its regions, Crimea and the Black Sea.

War-torn Ukraine has introduced a state-funded programme allowing serving soldiers to freeze their sperm, as the country grapples with a worsening demographic crisis intensified by Russia’s full-scale invasion. Under the scheme, Ukrainian troops can store sperm free of charge, giving their partners the option of having children in the future if the soldiers are killed or if prolonged stress and injury affect their fertility. Maxim, a 35-year-old National Guard soldier deployed near the eastern frontline, said he agreed to freeze his sperm during recent leave in Kyiv at his wife’s urging. Speaking by phone from his position, he said constant danger from drones and shelling meant no soldier could feel safe, even far from the front. “Our men are dying. The Ukrainian gene pool is dying. This is about the survival of the nation,” he said, adding that stress and combat conditions can reduce reproductive health. Private clinics first began offering fertility preservation to military personnel in 2022, shortly after Russia’s invasion. In 2023, Ukraine’s parliament stepped in to regulate the practice and provide public funding. Lawmaker Oksana Dmitrieva, who helped draft the legislation, said the aim was to protect soldiers’ future family plans. “They are defending our future, but may lose their own,” she said. Initial versions of the law sparked public anger after it emerged that stored sperm would be destroyed if a soldier died, preventing widows from using it. The legislation was later amended to allow samples to be preserved free of charge for up to three years after death, provided prior written consent exists. The policy is also meant to counter a demographic decline that pre-dated the war but has sharply worsened as thousands of young men have been killed and millions of civilians, mostly women, have fled abroad. Many refugees remain outside Ukraine, citing insecurity and difficult living conditions. Ukraine’s state-run Centre for Reproductive Medicine in Kyiv began enrolling soldiers in the programme in January. Although only a small number have joined so far, officials expect demand to grow as awareness spreads. Clinic director Oksana Holikova said the war has severely affected reproductive health, with pregnancy rates falling sharply since the invasion. She said stress, depression and fear of missile attacks have led many couples to delay having children. The programme has not been without legal complications. Katerina Malyshko, whose husband Vitaly was killed by a Russian guided bomb strike, was initially denied the right to use their frozen embryos. After months of legal struggle, a court eventually ruled in her favour. “I felt joy and grief at the same time,” she said, describing the ruling as a way to honour her husband. Lawmakers admit the law still needs refinement, with further amendments expected to be debated later this year. On the frontline, Maxim said the biggest challenge is persuading men to take part. Many soldiers feel embarrassed discussing fertility, despite widespread psychological strain. “We need to talk about this openly and explain why it matters,” he said. “Because tomorrow I could be gone, but my wife would still have the chance to carry on our family.”   With inputs from BBC

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday in Munich, Germany that Ukraine is ready for an agreement that will bring real peace, the Ukrinform news agency reported. "Ukraine is ready for an agreement that will bring real peace to us, to Ukraine, to Europe," he said during a speech at the Munich Security Conference, adding that the crisis can be ended, first of all, with dignity. "This is the most important thing for us," Zelensky said. According to him, Europe is practically not present at the negotiating table, which is a "big mistake." Ukrainians are trying to fully engage Europe in the negotiating process so that "the interests of Europe and the voice of Europe are taken into account." He added that Ukraine will do everything to make these negotiations successful and is in constant communication with U.S. representatives.

A Russian airstrike on a residential area in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine, killed one person and injured two on Sunday, officials said. The attack caused a fire in a nine-story apartment building, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine reported. Russia also targeted energy infrastructure in Poltava region overnight, Serhii Koretskyi, chief of state-owned gas company Naftogaz, said. Since the war began nearly four years ago, Russia has frequently hit Ukraine’s power grid, especially during winter, in what Kyiv calls a strategy to weaken Ukrainian morale. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the United States has given Ukraine and Russia a June deadline to reach a peace agreement. He added that if the deadline is missed, the U.S. is likely to pressure both sides to comply. “The Americans are proposing the parties end the war by early summer and will probably put pressure on both sides according to this schedule,” Zelenskyy told reporters Friday. “They want everything done by June and a clear schedule of events.” Zelenskyy also said the next round of U.S.-brokered trilateral talks is likely to take place in Miami next week. Ukraine has confirmed its participation. Earlier U.S.-facilitated talks in Abu Dhabi produced no breakthrough, as Russia demands Ukraine withdraw from the Donbas region — a condition Kyiv refuses to accept.

US President Donald Trump has said Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed not to carry out attacks on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities for about a week due to exceptionally cold weather gripping the region. Speaking at a televised cabinet meeting in Washington on Thursday, Trump said he personally asked Putin to halt strikes on Ukraine’s capital and other urban areas during the extreme cold, and that the Russian leader agreed. Trump did not specify when the pause would begin. Russia has not confirmed any such agreement. However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed Trump’s remarks, calling them an important signal about the possibility of protecting Kyiv and other cities during the harsh winter period. Air raid sirens sounded overnight into Friday in only four Ukrainian regions close to the frontline, according to Ukrainian officials. Kyiv and other major cities were not included. Ukraine’s air force later said those areas were targeted by around 80 Russian drones and a ballistic missile. Temperatures in Kyiv were forecast to drop sharply from Thursday, falling to as low as minus 24 degrees Celsius in the coming days. Russia has intensified strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure during cold spells since launching its full-scale invasion in 2022, worsening power and heating shortages. In a social media post, Zelensky said Ukrainian and US teams had discussed the issue during talks in the United Arab Emirates and expressed hope that the understandings would be implemented. Ukrainian media reported that Kyiv had agreed to mirror Moscow’s actions by pausing its own attacks on Russian oil refineries. Russian, Ukrainian and US negotiators held their first trilateral talks since the war began during meetings in the UAE last week. While all sides described the discussions as constructive, there has been no formal announcement from Moscow of a pause in attacks. Despite the reported understanding, Russian strikes have continued to damage Ukraine’s power grid, leaving millions without reliable heating or electricity as repair crews struggle to restore supplies amid ongoing attacks.   With inputs from BBC

Ukraine has condemned a fresh wave of Russian attacks that killed one person and injured 23 others overnight, as peace talks with Russia and the United States resumed in Abu Dhabi. Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha described the strikes as “brutal” and said the attacks hit not only civilians but also the peace process. He said the assault showed Russia was not serious about negotiations. According to officials, one person was killed and four others were wounded in drone attacks on the capital Kyiv. In Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, 19 people were injured during heavy overnight strikes, local authorities said. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said three of the injured were taken to hospital. He also said critical infrastructure was damaged, leaving about 6,000 buildings without heating as temperatures remain below freezing. President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia mainly targeted energy facilities during the attacks. In Kharkiv, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said a maternity hospital and a shelter for displaced people were damaged. The attacks came as delegations from Ukraine, Russia and the US held a second day of talks in Abu Dhabi, the first known trilateral discussions since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022. Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov said the talks focused on ways to end the war and move toward a lasting and dignified peace. However, Ukrainian officials said the key issue of territory remains unresolved. Russia currently controls about 20 percent of Ukrainian territory, including parts of the eastern Donbas region. Moscow wants Ukraine to give up more land, a demand Kyiv has rejected.   With inputs from BBC

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the future of eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region will be a central issue as negotiators from Ukraine, Russia and the United States hold talks in Abu Dhabi aimed at ending Russia’s nearly four-year full-scale invasion. The UAE foreign ministry said the talks, which began Friday and continue Saturday, are intended “to promote dialogue and identify political solutions to the crisis.” The White House described the first day of discussions as productive. Hours before the three-way talks opened, Russian President Vladimir Putin held overnight discussions on a possible settlement with US President Donald Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. The Kremlin reiterated that any peace deal would require Ukraine to withdraw its troops from eastern territories illegally annexed by Russia but not fully controlled. Zelenskyy said after meeting Trump on Thursday in Davos, Switzerland, that while the status of Russian-occupied land in eastern Ukraine remains unresolved, peace proposals are “nearly ready.” He also said he discussed with Trump the idea of establishing a Ukraine-controlled free trade zone in the east, calling it potentially positive for business. Friday marked the first known instance of Trump administration officials meeting simultaneously with representatives from both Ukraine and Russia. Zelenskyy said the Ukrainian delegation was updating him almost hourly. “They are discussing the parameters for ending the war,” Zelenskyy said in a late-night address. “The most important thing is whether Russia is ready to end the war it started.” He cautioned that it was too early to draw conclusions. The Kremlin described the talks as a security working group, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov again calling troop withdrawal from Donbas an “important condition.” Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov said a lasting settlement would not be possible without resolving territorial issues, while Russian media reported discussions on buffer zones and control measures. US officials confirmed that Witkoff and Kushner were joined in Abu Dhabi by Army Secretary Dan Driscoll and NATO’s top military commander, US Air Force Gen Alexus Grynkewich. Ukraine’s delegation includes senior security and military officials. Earlier in Davos, Zelenskyy met Trump for about an hour, describing the talks as productive. Trump later said both sides want a deal but that territorial boundaries remain the main obstacle. Russia currently controls about 20 percent of Ukraine’s territory, though gains have come at high military and economic cost. Ukraine continues to face financial strain, manpower shortages and dependence on Western military support. Zelenskyy also sharply criticised European allies, accusing them of slow decision-making, insufficient defence spending and reluctance to use frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine. “Europe looks lost,” he said, warning that the continent risks repeating the same mistakes unless it takes stronger action.

Russian strikes on Ukraine killed at least one person and injured 23 others overnight into Saturday, as negotiators from Ukraine, Russia, and the United States met in Abu Dhabi for a second day of talks aimed at ending Russia’s nearly four-year full-scale invasion. Kyiv City Military Administration head Tymur Tkachenko said one person was killed and four others wounded in Russian drone attacks on the Ukrainian capital. In Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, drone strikes injured 19 people, Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov reported Saturday. The attacks coincided with the continuation of three-way talks in the United Arab Emirates, marking the first known instance of officials from the Trump administration engaging directly with both countries to push for progress toward ending the conflict. The UAE foreign ministry said the talks are intended “to promote dialogue and identify political solutions to the crisis,” while the White House called Friday’s first day productive. Diplomatic activity has intensified in recent days, from Switzerland to Moscow, although major obstacles remain, particularly regarding territorial issues. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told a Davos forum on Thursday that a potential peace deal is “nearly ready,” but key sticking points remain unresolved. Just hours before the talks began, Russian President Vladimir Putin held overnight discussions with Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner on a Ukraine settlement. The Kremlin maintains that Kyiv must withdraw its troops from areas in the east that Russia illegally annexed but has yet to fully control for any deal to succeed.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the first trilateral talks involving Ukraine, Russia and the United States could be a step toward ending the war, as negotiators head to Abu Dhabi. Zelensky said the status of eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region will be the key issue at the talks, adding that different outcomes are possible. He said he hopes for a positive result. The meeting is expected to be the first time since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022 that all three sides take part in talks linked to a possible settlement. Zelensky said he discussed Donbas with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos. He also said the two leaders finalised future US security guarantees for Ukraine if a deal is reached, and talked about additional air defence needs. The talks come after Russia’s President Vladimir Putin met Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Moscow. The Kremlin described that discussion as useful and very frank. Speaking on Air Force One, Trump said he believed both Putin and Zelensky want to make a deal, but said it remains to be seen what happens. Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials reported continued Russian strikes. Emergency services said four people, including a five-year-old boy, were killed in a drone attack in eastern Ukraine. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko again urged residents to consider leaving the city as thousands of buildings remain without heating during freezing temperatures.   With inputs from BBC