Vladimir Putin poses with Donald Trump’s envoy, real estate developer Steve Witkoff, St. Petersburg, Russia, April 11, 2025

EA-War and Politics 24 VideoCast: “Incompetent” Witkoff Amid Uncertainty and Concern Over Ukraine-Russia-US Talks

Saturday’s Coverage: Confusion Over US Role in Ukraine-Russia Talks

UPDATE 0707 GMT:

A man and a woman in Dnipro city were murdered by an overnight Russian drone strike.

The attack set a fire, destroyed a house, and damaged two more residences and a car.

UPDATE 0652 GMT:

Ukrainians are suffering widespread power outages on Saturday after a “cascade shutdown” in the country’s power grid, following disruptions to transmission lines between Romania and Moldova and between western and central Ukraine.

Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal said that the nuclear power plants are operating at reduced capacity following the outage.

Emergency blackouts were in place in Kyiv and the surrounding region, and in the Cherkasy, Chernivtsi, Zhytomyr, and Kharkiv regions. There were power cuts in the Odesa and Dnipropetrovsk regions.

Sources in the Zelensky Cabinet and an energy company said the reasons for the systemic failure are unclear.

In his nightly address to the nation, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said:

Ukrainians suffering widespread power outages on Saturday after a “cascade shutdown” in the country’s power grid, following disruptions to transmission lines between Romania and Moldova and between western and central Ukraine.

Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal said that the nuclear power plants are operating at reduced capacity following the outage.

Emergency blackouts were in place in Kyiv and the surrounding region, and in the Cherkasy, Chernivtsi, Zhytomyr, and Kharkiv regions. There were power cuts in the Odesa and Dnipropetrovsk regions.

The outage cut water supplies in Kyiv, and the capital’s subway system was temporarily suspended.

In his nightly address to the nation, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky blamed ice buildups on the lines and automatic shutdowns.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff has declared “productive and constructive meetings” with Vladimir Putin’s top financial advisor Kirill Dmitriev in Florida.

Trying to stave any advance for Ukraine in trilateral discussions, scheduled for today in Abu Dhabi, the Kremlin sent Dmitriev to Miami on Saturday.

The Russians have pursued the manipulation of Witkoff, after psychological profiles of Trump officials, since early 2025. He has repeatedly promoted their position: in late October, he and Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner collaborated with Dmitriev on a 28-point ultimatum to Ukraine to give up territory and accept permanent weakness with no effective security guarantees.

Witkoff posted after Saturday’s sitdown, which included Kushner and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent:

We are encouraged by this meeting that Russia is working toward securing peace in Ukraine and is grateful for [Donald Trump’s] critical leadership in seeking a durable and lasting peace.

Neither he nor Dmitriev gave details of the discussions.

On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Witkoff and Kushner would not be in the American delegation in Abu Dhabi today. The Trump Administration has not said which officials will attend.

In his nightly address to the nation, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said, “We are in regular contact with the US side and are waiting for them to provide specifics on further meetings.”

He indicated that today’s gathering in the UAE will be postponed, “We are counting for meetings next week and are preparing for them.”