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Ukraine condemns ‘brutal’ Russian strikes ahead of second day of peace talks
Ukraine has condemned a fresh wave of Russian strikes overnight which killed one person and injured 23 others, as talks with the US aimed at ending the war are set to resume.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the “brutal” attack had “hit not only our people, but also the negotiation table”.
Delegations from Russia, Ukraine and the US have been meeting in Abu Dhabi for the first trilateral talks since the Kremlin launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbour in 2022.
A source told the BBC that some progress had been made but the key issue of territory remains unresolved.
The mayor of Ukrainian capital Kyiv said one person had died and four had been wounded while Kharkiv’s mayor reported that 19 people had been hurt during a sustained assault on the city in the early hours of Saturday morning.
On the second day of the three-way talks in Abu Dhabi, Sybiha said the “barbaric” overnight assault proved “that Putin’s place is not at the board of peace, but at the dock of the special tribunal”.
US President Donald Trump said last week that Russian leader Vladimir Putin had accepted an invitation to join his ‘Board of Peace’ – an organisation focused on ending global conflicts. Putin has not confirmed this.
Kyiv’s mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram that three of the four people who had been injured had been hospitalised.
He added that the capital’s critical infrastructure had been damaged, leaving 6,000 buildings without heating.
Temperatures in Ukraine are at sub-zero levels and in a statement following the assaults, President Volodymyr Zelensky said: “The main target of the Russians was the energy infrastructure.”
In Kharkiv, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said 19 people had been injured during the strikes in the early hours of Saturday morning. A maternity hospital and a hostel for displaced people were damaged.
Russia occupies roughly 20% of Ukraine, including parts of the eastern Donbas region. The Kremlin wants Ukraine to hand over large areas of the territory. Ukraine has ruled this out.
Following the first day of talks, Rustem Umerov, who is leading the Ukrainian delegation, said on social media: “The meeting focused on the parameters for ending Russia’s war and the further logic of the negotiation process aimed at advancing toward a dignified and lasting peace.”
[BBC]
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Foreign News
Indonesia landslide kills 7, dozens more missing
At least seven people have died and more than 80 others are missing after a landslide hit Indonesia’s West Java province, officials said.
The landslide occurred in the West Bandung region, south-east of the capital Jakarta, following days of intense rainfall.
More than thirty homes were destroyed after “landslide material buried residential areas, causing fatalities and affecting local residents”, Indonesia’s disaster mitigation agency said in a statement.
Flooding, landslide and extreme weather alerts have also been issued for the broader region.
The landslide hit the village of Pasirlangu around 02:30AM on Saturday [24] (19:30 GMT).
Two dozen people were evacuated safely from the affected region, according to Abdul Muhari, communication chief of the National Search Agency.
Images shared by local news outlets showed homes buried under mud and debris.
[BBC]
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Sri Lanka bat first in second ODI
Sri Lanka elected to bat first in the second ODI against England at the R Premadasa International Stadium
Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Kusal Mendis (wk), Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka, Janith Liyanage, Pavan Rathnayake, Dunith Wellalage, Pramod Madushan, Jeffrey Vandersay, Asitha Fernando
England: Rehan Ahmed, Ben Duckett, Joe Root, 4Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook (capt), Jos Buttler (wk), Will Jacks, Sam Curran, Jamie Overton, Liam Dawson, Adil Rashid
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