Russia hammers Ukraine's power grid ahead of Abu Dhabi peace talks

Ukraine's energy network took another beating overnight, with drone and ballistic missile strikes hitting infrastructure across 12 regions, President Volodymyr Zelensky said. Kyiv absorbed the worst of it. Nine people were reported hurt nationwide, including one child, as Russia fired more than 30 ballistic missiles and over 170 drones.

In the capital, Zelensky said electricity, water and heating supplies were disrupted, with residential buildings, the North Bridge and a kindergarten damaged. Strikes also hit substations in the Kyiv region that link the Rivne and Khmelnytsky nuclear power plants to Kyiv and central Ukraine. Substations were damaged in Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, Rivne, Kharkiv and Dnipro regions too.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the city's water system was back to normal and roughly 60% of apartment buildings had heating again. Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal reported power cuts in five regions but didn't say how many homes were affected. Temperatures are falling across the country, and parts of Ukraine have already seen their first winter snow.

The timing is pointed. Ukrainian and Russian delegations are due to take part in trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi next week, and Zelensky wrote on Telegram that Moscow was preparing for those talks by striking Ukraine's "critical infrastructure." He said Ukraine is counting on stepped-up bilateral support from the United States, calling for unity between both parties on security, backing for Ukraine, condemnation of Russian aggression and more sanctions pressure on Vladimir Putin.

The strikes landed two days after US First Lady Melania Trump hosted Russian and Ukrainian delegations at the White House. She pushed for a "more enduring" ceasefire after last week's truce in the southern Kherson region, which allowed hundreds of residents of the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky to evacuate during a six-day window that both Moscow and Kyiv credited Trump with brokering. "The lives of innocent people must transcend the division of war," she said.

Earlier this week, glide bombs hit an aid centre near Zaporizhzhia, with the death toll climbing to 55 as rescue teams dug deeper into the ruins. Meanwhile, Zelensky's spokesperson declined to comment on reports that the Ukrainian president will be invited to the UK for a state visit next year.