The two-day trilateral peace talks between Russia, Ukraine, and the United States concluded on Saturday amid heightened tensions, hours after a deadly Russian airstrike struck Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv. The overnight attack killed at least one person, injured four others, and caused widespread disruption to critical infrastructure, underscoring the fragility of diplomatic efforts to end the war.

According to a Reuters report, the strike damaged Kyiv’s power grid, leaving nearly 1.2 million homes without electricity. City authorities also said close to 6,000 buildings were left without heating as temperatures dropped to around minus 10 degrees Celsius, compounding the humanitarian impact on residents during the winter cold.

The peace talks, which began on Friday, marked the first formal trilateral engagement between Moscow, Kyiv, and Washington since the conflict began. While discussions were ongoing, Russian President Vladimir Putin held marathon overnight talks with US President Donald Trump’s envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, focusing on a possible framework for ending the war, the Associated Press reported.

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During the negotiations, Russia reportedly reiterated that any peace settlement would require Ukraine to withdraw its troops from eastern regions that Moscow has illegally annexed but not fully captured. Kyiv has consistently rejected such demands, maintaining that territorial integrity is non-negotiable.

Just a day before the talks began, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had struck an optimistic tone, saying a potential peace deal was “nearly ready.” He made the remarks while addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, raising hopes that progress could be imminent.

However, the latest airstrike has cast a shadow over those expectations, highlighting the sharp contrast between diplomatic engagement and ongoing military aggression. As the talks end without a breakthrough, the situation on the ground suggests that significant hurdles remain before any lasting peace can be achieved.

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