US, Russia and Ukraine start talks in Abu Dhabi

Peace talks between Russia, Ukraine and the US are getting underway in the United Arab Emirates. It is the first such meeting since February. DW has the latest updates.

Russia attacked energy facilities in several regions during the night before the Abu Dhabi talks, causing numerous blacouts, Ukrainian grid operator Ukrenegro said on Tuesday. "Due to enemy attacks on energy facilities, as of this morning there are power outages in the Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Kyiv, Sumy, Kharkiv and Chernigiv regions," Ukrenergo said on Telegram. Energy workers "are operating around the clock to repair damaged equipment and restore electricity to Ukrainian homes as quickly as possible," the company added.

Russia has been stepping up attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure ahead of the winter heating season, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday saying Moscow wanted to up the pressure on Kyiv ahead of the talks.