Residents queue for hot food after Russian attacks on Kyiv, Ukraine, January 23, 2026

EA-War and Politics 24 VideoCast: Putin’s Last Chance to Conquer Ukraine?

Saturday’s Coverage: Amid 3-Way Talks, Russia Launches Mass Strikes on Kyiv and Kharkiv

UPDATE 1400 GMT:

Donald Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, in a conference call with journalists, have declared a significant advance in the Ukraine-Russia-US talks which they attended in Abu Dhabi.

A “US official”, likely Witkoff, proclaimed:

Everything was discussed. No one was put off by the discussions on either side. We haven’t left any issues out of the discussion and we didn’t have to prod anybody. We saw a lot of respect in the room because they were really looking for solutions.

He cited a joint lunch on Saturday, “There was a moment that everybody looked almost as they were friends. I had a sense of hope.”

A “second US official”, possibly Kushner, said of the envoys’ meeting with Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin on the eve of the talks: “The Russian president said that he wants to see a diplomatic settlement of this war. He sent a pretty substantial delegation to Abu Dhabi.”

He said the talks in the UAE “went as well as we could have expected. We feel good where we are now”.

One of the officials said, “We are very close to a meeting between Putin and Zelensky.”

UPDATE 1232 GMT:

Reports are circulating of an overnight Ukrainian strike on a thermal power plant in the Belgorod region in western Russia.

A local news outlet described the “most massive” strikes on Belgorod during Russia’s 4-year full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with more than two dozen explosions. Independent outlet Astra, citing photos and videos from locals, said “at least 50 explosions were counted” and some districts losing power and water.

Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladnov said the attack with 24 munitions included US-made HIMARS rockets: “There are no casualties, but there is damage to energy facilities.”

UPDATE 1203 GMT:

One civilian has been murdered and nine injured by Russian attacks across Ukraine over the past day.

Air defenses interecepted 87 of 102 drones. The other 15 struck 10 locations.

The Russians also fired two Iskander ballistic missiles.

In the Kherson region in the south, one person was killed and four injured by attacks on 35 settlements.

Casualties were also reported in the Kharkiv, Donetsk, and Zaporizhzhia regions.

UPDATE 1152 GMT:

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko says 1,676 residential buildings, around 15% of the capital’s housing stock — that remain without heating after the latest Russian attacks.

Vitali Zaichenko, CEO of State grid operator Ukrenergo, said the situtation on the east side of the Dnipro River is “dire”.

President Volodymyr Zelensky posted:

Visiting Vilnius on Sunday, Zelensky discussed the Russian attacks and energy situation with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda, who pledged 100 emergency generators for Ukraine:

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Ukraine and Russia have agreed to a second round of US-brokered talks, despite Moscow’s massive missile and drone strikes trying to break Ukrainian energy infrastructure.

An American official said the discussions will resume in Abu Dhabi on February 1. They declared:

I think getting everyone together was a big step. I think it’s a confirmation of the fact that, number one, a lot of progress has been made to date in really defining the details needed to get to a conclusion.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky posted:

However, the Kremlin maintained its demand for Ukraine’s surrender of territory, notably the rest of the Donetsk region in the east of the country, as Russia carried out its aerial assault on civilian areas.

Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov, “Russia will continue to consistently pursue the goals set for the special military operation on the battlefield, where the Russian armed forces hold the strategic initiative.”

A Russian official told the State outlet TASS of the “most complicated” matter: “This issue remains to be the most complicated. The withdrawal of the Ukrainian military from Donbas [the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in eastern Ukraine] is important and various security parameters are being considered regarding this issue.”

Moscow’s missiles and drones murdered a woman and injured at least 31 civilians — four in Kyiv and 27 in the second city Kharkiv — early Saturday.

Around 80% of the country faced emergency power cuts after Russia fired at least 396 aerial weapons, including 250 attack drones and 21 ballistic and cruise missiles.