Russia Hammers Kyiv Bridge and Power Grid, Kills 53 at Aid Site as 3-Way Talks Open
Russia escalates strikes on Ukraine's power grid and cities ahead of Abu Dhabi negotiations, while a deadly attack on an aid site pushes the civilian toll higher.
Russia has stepped up attacks on Ukraine ahead of three-way talks with Ukraine and the United States, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, as negotiators from the three countries prepared to meet Tuesday in Abu Dhabi aimed at ending the war [281766]. Russian airstrikes hit the Kyiv region, striking a major bridge and energy facilities just before the negotiations, and Zelenskyy accused Moscow of trying to "push" Ukraine "into a blackout" ahead of the talks [281415].
Russia named its delegation for the Abu Dhabi meetings on November 10 and 11, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. The team will include Kremlin adviser Vladimir Medinsky and two deputy foreign ministers, Sergey Ryabkov and Mikhail Galuzin [281614]. The United States, Russia and Ukraine will meet again next week, US mediator Steve Witkoff announced, saying he has concrete goals for the negotiations [277424].
The fighting has been intense. Russia carried out 11 coordinated group strikes on Ukraine in the past week, according to a statement released by Moscow, which also said Russian air defenses downed more than 5,000 drones over the same period [280636]. A group strike is a coordinated attack in which multiple weapons, including missiles and drones, are launched together against targets in a single operation.
In one of the deadliest attacks on civilians this year, the death toll from Russia's bombing of an aid distribution point in Ukraine's southeastern Zaporizhzhia region rose to 53, the acting regional governor said Friday. The strike hit the site on Monday [280808].
Russia's defense ministry said its forces struck a cargo ship carrying military supplies in the Black Sea, just south of Odesa, following months of repeated Ukrainian attacks on vessels entering and leaving Russian ports in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov [280721].
US President Donald Trump said the Russia-Ukraine war may end soon, pointing to what he called a "big deal" with Moscow that includes Kyiv and Europe [281615]. Trump met with a Kremlin envoy and said a deal to end Russia's war "might involve all of Europe," yet next week's talks have no European seat at the table [281383].