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Zelensky warns of new Russian strikes ahead of Geneva peace talks

Feb 16 (Reuters) - President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday that Ukrainian intelligence showed more Russian attacks on energy targets lay ahead and that such strikes made it more difficult to reach an agreement on ending the nearly four-year war.

Reuters
Aftermath of overnight missile and drone strikes across Ukraine epa12701912 The site of a Russian drone strike on a residential building in Kyiv, Ukraine, 03 February 2026, amid the Russian invasion. At least three people were injured in Kyiv as a result of the attack, according to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine (SES). Russia carried out another combined missile and drone strike across Ukraine, with the main targets being heating and electricity infrastructure during a severe frost, with temperatures below -20 degrees across the country. EPA/STRINGER

"Intelligence reports show that Russia is preparing further massive strikes against energy infrastructure so it is necessary to ensure that all air defence systems are properly configured," Zelensky said in his nightly video address.

Ukrainian, Russian and American delegations are gathering in the Swiss city of Geneva for a third round of US-brokered talks on Tuesday focused for the first time on the thorniest question of the war — the fate of Ukrainian territory occupied by Russia.

Zelensky said Russian attacks were "constantly evolving" and resorting to a combination of weapons, including drones and missiles, requiring "special defence and support from our partners".

"Russia cannot resist the temptation of the final days of winter cold and wants to strike Ukrainians painfully," he said. "Partners must understand this. First and foremost, this concerns the United States."

Reuters was not able to immediately reach Russian officials for comment.

The head of Ukraine's delegation, Rustem Umerov, said on Telegram that his team was already in Geneva looking forward "to constructive work and substantive meetings on security and humanitarian issues".

Moscow wants Ukraine to cede the entirety of the Donbas area.

Russian news agencies quoted aviation sources as saying that the Russian delegation had left for Geneva, headed by Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to President Vladimir Putin.

"This time, the idea is to discuss a broader range of issues, including, in fact, the main ones. The main issues concern both the territories and everything else related to the demands we have put forward," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

He said military intelligence chief Igor Kostyukov would also take part in the talks and that Putin's special envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, would engage in a separate working group on economic issues.

Two earlier rounds of US-backed talks in the United Arab Emirates led to a prisoner swap but no breakthrough toward a settlement.


(Reporting by Ron Popeski and Oleksandr Kozhukhar; Editing by Paul Simao and Lisa Shumaker)


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