U.S.-backed trilateral talks involving Ukraine and Russia will be held next week in Abu Dhabi, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday, as Ukraine braces for harsher winter conditions and uncertainty over an energy ceasefire with Moscow.
Kyiv remains under pressure from Washington to advance peace efforts in a war nearing its fourth year, while continuing to face Russian air attacks that have severely damaged Ukraine’s energy infrastructure during one of the coldest winters in recent memory.
Talks Follow Stalled January Meeting
The first round of negotiations, held in late January, failed to produce progress on the key issue of territory. Russia continues to demand that Ukraine relinquish additional land in the eastern regions it has occupied — a position Kyiv has repeatedly rejected.
Zelenskiy said the upcoming talks, scheduled for February 4 and 5, would come at a critical moment, with Ukrainian forces struggling to slow steady Russian advances on the battlefield.
“Ukraine is ready for a substantive discussion,” Zelenskiy wrote on X. “We are interested in ensuring the outcome brings us closer to a real and dignified end to the war.”
Freezing Temperatures Strain Power Network
As diplomacy resumes, Ukraine is grappling with severe winter weather. In Kyiv, around 1,000 apartment buildings were still without heating on Sunday, according to Mayor Vitali Klitschko, after a major grid malfunction a day earlier.
Temperatures in the capital hovered near minus 15 degrees Celsius, as repair crews worked to restore heating to hundreds of buildings among nearly 3,500 high-rise apartments affected nationwide.
While officials did not directly link the outage to war damage, the disruption — which also affected neighbouring Moldova — highlighted the fragility of Ukraine’s energy system following months of Russian strikes.
Energy Ceasefire in Question
The Kremlin said two days earlier that it had agreed to pause attacks on energy infrastructure until Sunday, following a request from Donald Trump. Ukrainian officials said Kyiv would reciprocate, adding that the suspension was expected to continue until the following Friday.
No major strikes on energy facilities have been reported in recent days, but Zelenskiy warned that Russia continues to target logistics and transport links through ongoing air assaults.
Deadly Overnight Attacks Continue
Despite the limited pause on energy strikes, violence continued elsewhere. In southeastern Ukraine, two people were killed overnight when a drone hit a residential building in the city of Dnipro, regional officials said.
In Zaporizhzhia, six people were injured after an attack struck a maternity hospital, according to local authorities.
Temperatures are expected to fall further on Monday, dipping below minus 20 degrees Celsius in Kyiv.
Power Restorations and Planned Outages
Private energy company DTEK said it had restored electricity to 300,000 households in the southern Odesa region, which was among the hardest hit by the grid failure.
Meanwhile, national grid operator Ukrenergo announced that planned power outages would remain in place across the country.
Public Scepticism Over Peace Prospects
In Kyiv, residents expressed cautious pessimism. Anatoliy Veresenko, a 65-year-old war veteran jogging in a city park, said he feared renewed attacks and held limited expectations for the negotiations.
“I’m preparing for more strikes,” he said, adding that he had little faith the talks would bring a swift end to the conflict.