Another major Russian attack on Ukraine’s power grid suggested that renewed talks between Moscow, Kyiv, and Washington were unlikely to yield significant breakthroughs.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the latest strikes — the largest of the winter so far and coming during a -20°C (-4°F) cold snap — showed that Russia does not “take diplomacy seriously,” and that his negotiators would shift their stance accordingly.
The two sides remained far apart even before the attacks: Russian President Vladimir Putin wants Ukraine to give up territory beyond what his forces have already taken, which Zelenskyy refuses; and the Kremlin will not accept any postwar security settlement involving Western troops on Ukrainian soil.