Ukraine Warupdated 26m ago2 min read
Russia Downs Five Drones as Russia and Ukraine Exchange Attacks on Capitals
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Russia and Ukraine attacked each other’s capitals, including Kyiv and Moscow, early Thursday. US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff landed in Moscow to meet Putin.
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Attacks as talks end
Russia and Ukraine exchanged attacks on each other's capitals in the early hours of Thursday, a day after peace talks ended in Abu Dhabi, as explosions were heard in Kyiv and a Reuters witness said it was not immediately clear whether the city had incurred damage. Russia downed five drones heading for Moscow, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Telegram, and the Russian Defence Ministry said on Telegram it struck military and energy facilities in Ukraine as well as an ammunition depot in Kyiv.
US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff were set to travel to Moscow to meet President Vladimir Putin after the two days of peace talks, and the US mediators said differences remained on major issues including territorial questions. Kirill Dmitriev greeted US negotiators Kushner and Witkoff at a Moscow airport, and Dmitriev posted on X, "We welcome Steve and Jared to Moscow," accompanied by a video clip showing their arrival at the airport.
POW swap and Europe
Negotiators agreed to a prisoner exchange during two days of peace talks in Abu Dhabi that ended on Wednesday, and US President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner said, "we're going to have the biggest humanitarian release of prisoners" after the talks. Rustem Umerov and Vladimir Medinsky confirmed the planned exchange, and TASS cited Russian Lieutenant-General Alexander Zorin as saying the swap may happen in the next two to three weeks.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy arrived in Dublin and said there might be an "opportunity" to end Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II before 2027, while also telling reporters he would strongly like the Americans to come to Dublin with specific details. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said the negotiations in the UAE showed that the United States, Ukraine, and Europe are "completely aligned and united," even as the parties disagreed on the role Europe should play in continuing the negotiations.
Next steps and risks
US mediators said differences remained on major issues including territorial questions, and the US envoys were expected to raise the question of adding European partners to the talks with Putin. Kushner said European partners must be at the Russia-Ukraine negotiating table, and the Russian Defence Ministry said on Telegram it had hit military and energy facilities in Ukraine as well as a munitions warehouse in Kyiv.
Local officials said the attacks damaged energy and civilian infrastructure in the Rivne region, and Reuters witness accounts placed explosions in Kyiv in the early hours of Thursday. Zelenskiy said, "We are living in the midst of these massive attacks," and he added, "Today, a lot will depend on the shape of dialogue between the American and Russian sides tomorrow" as he linked the prospect of results to US handling of Moscow.