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Second round of talks to begin after ‘massive’ strikes by Russia

Imogen Dewey

Hello and welcome to the Europe live blog. We will be bringing you all the latest updates as Ukrainian and Russian officials meet for their second round of talks in Abu Dhabi, brokered by the Trump administration. As **Pjotr Sauer **explains, the talks are expected to mirror last month’s format – but both sides have downplayed prospects of an immediate breakthrough.

Here are some of the latest major news lines to catch up on:

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said Moscow carried out a massive and “deliberate” attack on Monday night into Tuesday as temperatures in Kyiv plunged to -20C. It involved a record number of 71 ballistic missiles as well as 450 drones, he said, sent to destroy energy infrastructure.

US president **Donald Trump **had said the new strikes did not – as Ukraine claimed – amount to a breach of Russia’s week-long commitment to hold off on striking Ukrainian energy infrastructure amid freezing winter temperatures, but Nato chief **Mark Rutte **said on Tuesday that the attacks “did not “signal seriousness about peace”.

Under a proposal discussed between Ukrainian, European and US officials, sources briefed on the discussions have told the Financial Times, Kyiv has agreed with western allies that repeated breaches of any future ceasefire agreement from Russia would lead to a coordinated US-Europe military response.

And meanwhile, as **Julian Borger **reports, the New Start treaty between the US and Russia expires on Thursday, removing the last remaining mutual limits on the world’s two biggest nuclear arsenals.

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What do most Ukrainians and Russians want?

Battered by a historically cold winter and facing gruelling months ahead, with much of its civilian infrastructure damaged by Russian strikes, Ukrainians are showing clear signs of exhaustion. While the desire for peace is widespread, polling indicates firm resistance to any settlement that would see the entire Donbas region handed over to Russia in exchange for US and European security guarantees and an end to the war. Many in the country fear such a compromise would not bring lasting peace, but instead embolden Moscow to press its campaign further.

It is harder to gauge public sentiment in Russia, where any criticism of the war can result in a prison sentence. However, the few independent polls that still exist suggest that the share of Russians who favour peace talks has risen to 61%. At the same time, those surveys indicate that Russians, much like their leader, remain unwilling to make territorial concessions as part of a peace settlement.

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Second round of talks to begin after ‘massive’ strikes by Russia

Imogen Dewey

Hello and welcome to the Europe live blog. We will be bringing you all the latest updates as Ukrainian and Russian officials meet for their second round of talks in Abu Dhabi, brokered by the Trump administration. As **Pjotr Sauer **explains, the talks are expected to mirror last month’s format – but both sides have downplayed prospects of an immediate breakthrough.

Here are some of the latest major news lines to catch up on:

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said Moscow carried out a massive and “deliberate” attack on Monday night into Tuesday as temperatures in Kyiv plunged to -20C. It involved a record number of 71 ballistic missiles as well as 450 drones, he said, sent to destroy energy infrastructure.

US president **Donald Trump **had said the new strikes did not – as Ukraine claimed – amount to a breach of Russia’s week-long commitment to hold off on striking Ukrainian energy infrastructure amid freezing winter temperatures, but Nato chief **Mark Rutte **said on Tuesday that the attacks “did not “signal seriousness about peace”.

Under a proposal discussed between Ukrainian, European and US officials, sources briefed on the discussions have told the Financial Times, Kyiv has agreed with western allies that repeated breaches of any future ceasefire agreement from Russia would lead to a coordinated US-Europe military response.

And meanwhile, as **Julian Borger **reports, the New Start treaty between the US and Russia expires on Thursday, removing the last remaining mutual limits on the world’s two biggest nuclear arsenals.