Russian strikes damage Ukraine’s power network ahead of Abu Dhabi talks

Russian missiles and drones struck Ukraine overnight, wounding at least nine people and damaging power infrastructure days before Ukrainian, Russian and U.S. negotiators are due to meet in Abu Dhabi.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia launched 36 missiles, of which Ukraine shot down four, and 172 drones. He said the attacks hit Kyiv and 12 other regions. The BBC reported that nine people were hurt across the country, including a child.

Zelenskyy accused Moscow of escalating attacks on critical infrastructure before Tuesday’s talks in the United Arab Emirates. “Russia has a very particular view of diplomacy – as a subtype of aggression,” he wrote. He said Ukraine hoped the United States and other partners would “act on principle.”

The negotiations would be the fourth round brokered by the Trump administration, CBS News reported. The previous round took place in Geneva in February. Territorial and security questions remain unresolved.

In Kyiv, strikes damaged homes, commercial property, a kindergarten and the Northern Bridge. Power and water outages disrupted the city. Mayor Vitali Klitschko described the energy situation as “extremely difficult” earlier Saturday. He later said water pressure had been stabilized and repairs to the bridge were underway. The BBC reported his subsequent update that the water system was operating normally and about 60% of apartment buildings were connected to heating.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said it targeted the bridge because it was used to transport weapons and military equipment for Ukrainian forces. It also said it struck a facility producing Flamingo missiles in Kyiv, along with energy and munitions facilities in the wider region and an electrical substation in Zhytomyr.

Ukraine’s Energy Ministry said the attacks damaged lines carrying electricity from nuclear power plants to Kyiv and central Ukraine, as well as other power facilities. Outages were most widespread in Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Kharkiv, Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions, it said, and were separate from scheduled rolling blackouts. Zelenskyy said preliminary findings indicated that KN-23 missiles made and supplied by North Korea hit one energy facility; assessments at other sites were continuing.

Separately, CBS News reported that rescuers continued searching a former school and nearby shelter in Komyshuvakha, a village near the front line in the Zaporizhzhia region. Russian guided bombs hit the site Monday while residents waited for humanitarian aid, CBS reported. Emergency services said nine more bodies had been recovered in the previous 24 hours, raising the death toll to 55 early Saturday. Dozens remained missing.

Across the border, officials in Russia’s Belgorod region said a Ukrainian drone hit a home in Grayvoron, killing one person. Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces shot down 411 Ukrainian drones overnight across 10 regions, as well as over Crimea and the Black and Azov Seas. Officials in Saratov and Oryol reported damage to civilian or commercial sites. Russian media reported strikes on the Saratov Oil Refinery and an Oryol plant that makes components for military equipment.

The BBC reported that U.S. first lady Melania Trump hosted Russian and Ukrainian delegations Thursday after a six-day ceasefire allowed hundreds to leave the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky. She called for a “more enduring” ceasefire. Zelenskyy said Ukraine was counting on greater U.S. support, unity on security issues and increased sanctions pressure on Russia.