Russia, Ukraine trade strikes ahead of fresh US-brokered talks in Abu Dhabi

• Russia targets four Ukrainian electrical substations as Kyiv faces another wave of drone attacks.

• Ukrainian long-range drones strike the KINEF refinery and a missile-propellant facility near St Petersburg.

• Abu Dhabi hosts fresh trilateral talks, with Moscow ruling out formal European participation.

Russia launched another assault on Ukraine's power grid while Ukrainian forces struck one of Russia's largest oil refineries, officials said on Monday, 9 November, hours before delegations from Moscow and Kyiv were due to meet for a fresh round of US-brokered talks aimed at ending the war.

Nearly five years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the two countries remain locked in a grinding conflict, with neither side showing signs of softening its demands. The war has killed hundreds of thousands of soldiers and thousands of civilians, according to analysts and humanitarian organisations.

US President Donald Trump, however, struck an optimistic note, saying Moscow and Kyiv were "very close" to reaching a deal despite the "tremendous hatred" between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

In an interview with 60 Minutes aired on Sunday, Trump said Ukraine would have a "little bit different shape" under a possible settlement, without elaborating. Trump has made several predictions about developments in the war that have failed to materialise.

The latest round of three-way negotiations involving envoys from the United States, Russia and Ukraine is scheduled to begin in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates, on Tuesday.

Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday that Trump's team had placed 'collective security' — extending beyond Russia and Ukraine to a wider region — at the top of the agenda for the two-day discussions.

Russia targets Ukraine's power infrastructure as Kyiv strikes refinery

Russian forces targeted four electrical substations in Ukraine's Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Cherkasy and Vinnytsia regions, Russia's Defence Ministry said on Monday. The attacks are part of Moscow's campaign to cripple Ukraine's energy infrastructure, threatening civilians' access to heating, electricity and running water as winter approaches.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday that the European Union had agreed to activate a special emergency mechanism to speed up funding for repairs to the country's power grid.

Russia launched 317 drones of various types, including 105 jet-powered drones, at Ukraine overnight, the Ukrainian air force said.

Russian aerial attacks have battered Ukraine throughout the war, with devastating consequences for civilians. A Russian glide bomb strike last week near the front line in the southern Zaporizhzhia region killed at least 55 people at an aid distribution centre.

On Monday, Russian forces struck a warehouse in Odesa, southwestern Ukraine, containing food supplies meant for kindergartens and schools, killing three people, local officials said.

Meanwhile, a Ukrainian long-range drone attack triggered a fire at the KINEF oil refinery, one of Russia's largest, located near St Petersburg and more than 1,200 km from the Ukrainian border, Leningrad governor Alexander Drozdenko said on Monday.

Ukraine said in early October that its long-range strikes had rendered more than half of Russia's oil refining capacity inoperable, hampering Moscow's ability to supply its military.

Ukrainian forces also struck a facility near St Petersburg that manufactures solid rocket propellant for Russia's Iskander-M ballistic missiles, Ukraine's General Staff said.

Kyiv is seeking to disrupt Russia's ability to launch ballistic missiles, which Ukrainian forces cannot intercept once airborne without additional US-made Patriot air defence systems. However, supplies of Patriot missiles remain limited.

Moscow rules out European participation in Abu Dhabi talks

The previous round of three-way negotiations, held in Geneva in February, also took place amid continued fighting and attacks. The discussions yielded no significant breakthrough towards ending the war, but the circumstances have since changed.

Trump, whose position on the conflict has shifted repeatedly, will also have to contend with Democrats taking control of the US Congress in January following the midterm elections. They could push for greater American support for Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Russia's state finances are under mounting strain from the war, while Ukraine's economy continues to suffer from relentless Russian attacks.

In Abu Dhabi, negotiators are expected to discuss security guarantees that would be acceptable to both sides. Russia regards NATO as a security threat, while Ukraine is seeking assurances that would prevent another Russian invasion.

Putin has sought to keep European countries out of negotiations over Ukraine's future, preferring to deal directly with Trump. Moscow has maintained that European officials will not participate in the Abu Dhabi discussions. However, French foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Sunday that France and other European representatives would be present in the UAE.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that the meeting would focus on trilateral negotiations, with the United States mediating between Russia and Ukraine. "You are aware that the Americans have their own channels of communication with the Europeans, as do the Ukrainians, and it appears they are already establishing their own methods of coordination," Peskov said. "But, to reiterate, this is a matter of trilateral negotiations."

With AP/PTI inputs