A Ukrainian drone attack in southwestern Russia killed two people on Saturday as parts of Ukraine went without power following Russian assaults on energy infrastructure hours before peace talks were to restart in Germany.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukrainian, U.S. and European officials will hold a series of meetings in Berlin in the coming days, adding that he will personally meet with U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoys.
“Most importantly, I will be meeting with envoys of President Trump, and there will also be meetings with our European partners, with many leaders, concerning the foundation of peace — a political agreement to end the war,” Zelenskyy said in an address to the nation late Saturday.
Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner are traveling to Berlin for the talks, according to a White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
American officials have tried for months to navigate the demands of each side as Trump presses for a swift end to Russia’s war and grows increasingly exasperated by delays. The search for possible compromises has run into major obstacles, including the possession of Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region, mostly occupied by Russia but parts of which remain under Ukrainian control.
“The chance is considerable at this moment, and it matters for our every city, for our every Ukrainian community,” Zelenskyy said. “We are working to ensure that peace for Ukraine is dignified, and to secure a guarantee — a guarantee, above all, that Russia will not return to Ukraine for a third invasion.”
The drone attack in Russia’s Saratov region damaged a residential building and several windows were also blown out at a kindergarten and clinic, said Gov. Roman Busargin. Russia’s Defense Ministry said it had shot down 41 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory overnight.
In Ukraine, Russia launched overnight drone and missile strikes on five Ukrainian regions, targeting energy and port infrastructure. Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said that over a million people were without electricity.
Zelenskyy said Russia had sent over 450 drones and 30 missiles into Ukraine overnight.
An attack on the Black Sea city of Odesa caused grain silos to catch fire at the port, Ukrainian deputy prime minister and reconstruction minister Oleksiy Kuleba said. Two people were wounded in attacks on the wider Odesa region, according to regional head Oleh Kiper.
Kyiv and its Western allies say Russia is trying to cripple the Ukrainian power grid and deny civilians access to heat, light and running water for a fourth consecutive winter, in what Ukrainian officials call “weaponizing” the cold. (JapanToday)
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