Russia has attacked Kyiv and Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, triggering emergency outages and prompting NATO member Poland to scramble jets to protect its airspace, two days after US-led Miami peace talks ended.
The weekend peace talks in Miami brought together US officials with Ukrainian and European delegations, alongside separate contacts with Russian representatives, as Washington tested whether there was scope for a settlement to end Russia's war in Ukraine.
As of Tuesday AEDT, air raid alerts covered nearly all of Ukraine, according to the country’s air force.
Debris fell near a residential building in Kyiv’s Sviatoshynskyi district, damaging windows, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on the Telegram messaging app.
Ukraine’s energy ministry said emergency power outages were introduced in a number of regions, including Kyiv and the surrounding region, after Russia again attacked energy facilities.
Russia has repeatedly hit Ukraine’s power grid and energy facilities during the nearly four-year war, intensifying strikes in winter to disrupt electricity and heating, strain logistics and the economy, and increase pressure on Kyiv.
Poland, a NATO member bordering western Ukraine, said Polish and allied aircraft were deployed to protect Polish airspace after Russian strikes targeted areas of western Ukraine near the border.
"These measures are preventive in nature and are aimed at securing and protecting the airspace,” Poland’s operational command said on X.
Poland scrambles jets during major Russian missile-and-drone barrages on western Ukraine, typically when strikes are assessed to pose a heightened risk near the Polish border.
Earlier Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy described negotiations on US proposals for a peace deal with Russia as "close to a real result".
However, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov played down any perception of progress, denying there had been a breakthrough, in a report from the Izvestia news outlet
"This is a working process," Peskov said, when asked whether the negotiations that took place in Miami on December 20-21 could be seen as a turning point.
Ukrainian negotiators led by senior official Rustem Umerov, along with representatives from Europe, have held a series of meetings with US envoys, including in recent days in Florida.
Officials in both Ukraine and Russia said their teams were returning home on Monday to report on the outcome of the discussions.
"It all looks quite worthy ... And here it is important that this is the work of both us (Ukraine) and the United States of America. This suggests that we are very close to a real result," Zelenskiy told a gathering devoted to Ukrainian diplomats.
Zelenskiy said the negotiators had been working on a 20-point plan, put forward by US envoys, which has been under discussion for weeks after an initial draft was criticised by Ukrainians and Europeans as being too slanted towards Russia.
"Not everything is ideal with this, but the plan is there," he said.
Also under discussion were security guarantees Ukraine has been seeking to guard against any future Russian military action once the fighting stops, as well as a plan for Ukraine's economic recovery.
"The basic block of all the documents is ready. It's basic," Zelenskiy said.
"There are some matters for which we are not prepared. And I am certain that there are matters for which the Russians are not prepared."
The US team has been led by President Donald Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
Speaking in his nightly video address, Zelenskiy said the key issue was to determine whether the US was able to "get a response from Russia, real readiness on the part of that country to focus on something other than aggression".
He said continued pressure on the Kremlin was vital to reduce Moscow's capacity to wage war.
"Lowering the price of Russian oil, strong global sanctions and continued other forms of pressure are what can persuade even a stubborn person," he said.
with AP
