Ukraine-Russia talks under way in Abu Dhabi in wake of ‘massive’ strikes on Kyiv – Europe live

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Pictures: Aftermath of attack in Odesa region

Here are some images from Reuters news agency of the aftermath of the attack in the Odesa region in southern Ukraine (more on this story can be found in our earlier post):

Residents stand near their apartment building that was struck by a drone. Photograph: Nina Liashonok/Reuters

A woman walks among the rubble after following the drone strike. Photograph: Nina Liashonok/Reuters

A view of an apartment building destroyed in the attack. Photograph: Nina Liashonok/Reuters

Local people work to clear up the debris. Photograph: Nina Liashonok/Reuters

A resident inspects a damaged flat in the apartment building hit by a drone. Photograph: Nina Liashonok/Reuters

Kremlin confirms low-level talks under way between Russia and France

The Kremlin has reacted to comments made by French president Emmanuel Macron that he was looking to resume contact with Putin on the war in Ukraine.

According to Reuters news agency, the Kremlin confirmed ongoing technical discussions between Russia and France, but provided no further details or indicated any dialogue between Putin and Macron.

The French president said on Tuesday that work was under way to restart direct discussions between Europe and Russia, saying it was “important that Europeans restore their own channels of communication” and that it is “being prepared at the technical level”.

He said this was being done “transparently” and with Zelenskyy in the loop. While he stressed that France continued to support Ukraine, he said contact with Russia was needed to negotiate security guarantees, although he acknowledges that Moscow has shown no real willingness to agree to a ceasefire.

It is not the first time Macron has suggested for Europe to re-engage with Putin. In December, he said Europe may be left with no choice but to do so if US-led efforts to broker a peace deal founder.

“I note that there are people who are talking to Vladimir Putin,” he said at the time, alluding to Trump.

“I think that we, Europeans and Ukrainians, have an interest in finding a framework to properly re-engage in this discussion. Otherwise, we will be talking among ourselves with negotiators who will then go alone to talk with the Russians, which is not ideal.”

French president Emmanuel Macron speaking in Vallerois-le-Bois, eastern France, on Tuesday. Photograph: Sébastien Bozon/AP

Ukrainian official reports 'massive' Russian attack in Odesa

Russian forces attacked the Odesa region of Ukraine’s south last night damaging homes and critical infrastructure, according to the regional governor, Oleg Kiper.

He posted the following statement on Telegram:

At night, the enemy carried out a massive attack with strike drones on the Odesa region. Damage to civilian, residential and industrial infrastructure was recorded.

In the city of Odesa, about 20 residential buildings and cars were damaged. Four people were rescued from the rubble, but one person was unfortunately injured.

The blast wave shattered windows in two kindergartens and a lyceum.

The shelling damaged critical infrastructure, administrative and industrial buildings of the enterprise, and caused fires. The fires have been extinguished.

He shared photos appearing to show extensive damage to properties and firefighters tackling a major fire.

We reported earlier of the missile and drone strikes in Kyiv on Tuesday that left thousands of people without power as temperatures plunged to -20C.

Negotiations have begun in Abu Dhabi - Umerov

Rustem Umerov, Ukraine’s national security council chief and top negotiator, has confirmed in a Facebook post that the US-brokered talks between Ukrainian and Russian officials in Abu Dhabi have begun.

His statement doesn’t reveal much, but he does say that Ukraine is working towards achieving a “dignified and lasting peace”.

This is what he’s said of the meeting so far:

The negotiation process started in a trilateral format – Ukraine, the United States, and Russia. Next comes work in separate groups by area, after which a follow-up joint synchronisation of positions is planned.

We are working within the clear directives of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to achieve a dignified and lasting peace.

We inform the Head of State about the progress of each stage of the negotiations.

Russian state media has reported that president Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping held a video call earlier today to discuss ties between Moscow and Beijing, which was described as a “stablising” factor in such turbulant times across the world.

“Amid growing turbulence, the foreign policy alliance between Moscow and Beijing remains an important stabilising factor,” Putin reportedly told Xi.

Southern Spain and Portugal brace for impact of Storm Leonardo

Red weather alerts have been issued for parts of southern Spain stretching from Málaga to Cádiz as authorities braced for the impact of Storm Leonardo.

Classes were suspended across most of the region on Wednesday and more than 3,000 people have been evacuated from the provinces of Cádiz, Málaga and Jaén, according to local reports.

A red warning is the most serious weather alert, signalling an extreme threat to life and property and urging people to avoid travel, stay indoors and follow official instructions.

The national weather forecaster, Aemet, said some parts of Sierra Grazalema in the province of Cádiz may see a year’s worth of rainfall from the storm.

A view of debris after the passage of Storm Kristin, in Leiria, central Portugal Photograph: Pedro Nunes/Reuters

In Portugal, central coastal areas could see wind gusts reaching 95 km/h (about 60mph) and waves up to 11 metres, according to weather forecasters. The most severe conditions are expected from Wednesday night to Thursday.

The Portuguese civil protection service raised its preparedness to the highest level, with the armed services deploying up to 3,000 soldiers alongside marine teams to flood-prone areas as weather conditions are expected to worsen throughout the week.

It comes a week after Storm Kristin tore through parts of northern and central Portugal, killing six people and causing flooding, landslides and widespread damage. Wind speeds reached 202 km/h (nearly 126mph), according to some reporters, beating a previous record set at 176.4 km/h (about 110mph) during Storm Leslie in October 2018.

Rescuers search for possible missing people after migrant boat collision kills 15

Rescuers are searching for possible missing people in the Aegean Sea after an overnight collision between a speedboat carrying migrants and a Greek coastguard vessel left at least 15 people dead.

The bodies of 11 men and three women were recovered from the sea near the island of Chios shortly after the collision, Greek authorities said. One woman later died in hospital.

A further 24 people, including 11 children, were taken to hospital in Chios, authorities added.

Greek coastguard officers carry out rescue operations at a port on the eastern Aegean island of Chios. Photograph: Pantelis Fykaris/AP

The coastguard said in a statement that one of its patrol vessels spotted the speedboat late on Tuesday night heading towards Chios without its navigations lights on and signalled it to stop. The speedboat refused to heed the warning and changed direction, colliding with the patrol vessel and capsizing, the statement added.

It was unclear how many people were on the speedboat.

You can read more on this story here:

Greece is a major entry point to Europe for people fleeing war and violence in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, with many attempting the dangerous crossing from the Turkish coast to nearby Greek islands in the eastern Aegean. The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said in November that more than 1,700 people died or went missing in 2025 attempting such perilous journeys in the Mediterranean and in the Atlantic off the coast of west Africa.

The International Organisation for Migration, the UN’s migration agency, said about 33,000 migrants have died or gone missing in the Mediterranean since 2014. But migrant arrivals to the Aegean islands have declined significantly in recent months, the Greek newspaper Kathimerini reported.

Here are some latest images coming through the newswires from Ukraine:

Ukrainian servicemen from the ‘Typhoon’ special purpose unit, a specialised unmanned systems detachment within the National Guard of Ukraine, repurpose older stock ammunition for use with modern weapons, including unmanned systems, in Kharkiv, northeastern Ukraine. Photograph: Sergey Kozlov/EPA

A volunteer tests an unmanned ground vehicle assembled for the Ukrainian army at an undisclosed location in Ukraine. Photograph: Maria Senovilla/EPA

Firefighters work next to cars destroyed by a Russian drone in Zaporizhzhia on Tuesday. Photograph: Reuters

Local people react near the site of a drone strike on a residential building in Kharkiv, northeastern Ukraine. At least five people were injured as a result of the attack, on Tuesday, Ukrainian police said. Photograph: Sergey Kozlov/EPA

Luke Harding has reported on the details of Russia’s attack on Tuesday, which Ukraine said involved a record number of 71 ballistic missiles as well as 450 drones sent to destroy energy infrastructure.

Kyiv residents reported loud explosions beginning at 1am on Tuesday in strikes that caused damage to five Kyiv districts and injured at least nine people. An air raid alert stayed in effect for more than five hours, and more than 1,000 residential buildings were without heating.

In the north-eastern city of Kharkiv, the mayor, Ihor Terekhov, said energy infrastructure had been damaged. More than 800 buildings were without heat, as water was drained from radiator systems to stop them freezing in the bitter cold.

You can read more here:

A drone strike on the southern city of Zaporizhzhia also killed two teenagers and wounded at least 11 people.

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.

Read more here:

Second round of talks to begin after 'massive' strikes by Russia

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.