By Micah Jonah | January 24, 2026
Fresh Russian air attacks have struck Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, and the northeastern city of Kharkiv, leaving at least one person dead and nearly twenty others injured, according to Ukrainian authorities.
The attacks occurred in the early hours of Friday as delegations from Russia, Ukraine and the United States reconvened in Abu Dhabi for the second day of negotiations aimed at ending the nearly four year long conflict.
Officials in Kyiv said several districts of the capital were hit by drone and missile strikes, triggering fires and damaging residential buildings, offices and medical facilities. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko confirmed that four people were wounded, with three currently receiving treatment in hospital.
In Kharkiv, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service reported that at least fourteen people were injured, including a child, after what it described as a massive wave of drone attacks across the region. Emergency responders battled fires in high rise buildings, commercial premises and a medical facility, while more than 130 rescue workers were deployed to affected areas.
Authorities said several residents were rescued from a damaged four storey building in the Industrialnyi district of the city.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian opposition lawmaker, Kira Rudik warned that the country’s energy infrastructure was under severe strain following the latest bombardments. She said the national power system was hanging by a thread and urged international partners to strengthen air defence support.
On the diplomatic front, Russia has reiterated its demand for territorial concessions as part of any peace agreement. A senior Russian foreign ministry official disclosed that Moscow is pushing for what it termed the Anchorage formula, a framework allegedly discussed during earlier talks between United States President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin last year.
Under the proposal, Russia expects Ukraine to withdraw from parts of Luhansk and Donetsk regions, paving the way for their formal annexation. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov also stated that full control of the Donbas region remains a major condition for any lasting settlement.
Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, however, has maintained that territorial integrity is central to the negotiations and that Ukraine will not accept forced land concessions.
Officials from the White House described the first round of Abu Dhabi talks as productive, while Russian sources indicated that discussions were ongoing and that no party had withdrawn from the process.
The Abu Dhabi meeting follows intensive shuttle diplomacy involving United States special envoy Steve Witkoff, President Putin and President Zelenskyy during the World Economic Forum in Davos earlier in the week.
As negotiations continue, military activity on the ground remains intense, with Russia also claiming the capture of a village northeast of Kharkiv and continued strikes reported in the Dnipropetrovsk region, worsening humanitarian and energy challenges across Ukraine.
