Russia and Ukraine launched attacks targeting each other's capitals early on Thursday, just hours after peace talks in Abu Dhabi ended without a breakthrough on key issues.
Explosions were heard across Kyiv in the early hours, although there were no immediate reports of damage. Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin said Russian air defences had shot down five drones heading towards the Russian capital.
It comes as the US envoys were set to travel to Moscow to meet president Vladimir Putin after US mediators said differences remained on major issues, including territorial questions.
US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff will travel to Moscow on Thursday for talks with Putin, where they are expected to raise the question of adding European partners to the talks. Kushner has said they must be at the table.
The US negotiators then plan to fly to Ireland to meet with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, who is due to attend a meeting of European leaders there.
However, negotiators agreed to a major prisoner exchange at two days of peace talks in Abu Dhabi that ended on Wednesday.
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Key Points
- Russia and Ukraine exchange attacks on capitals as US envoys head to Moscow
- Zelensky says Ukraine will 'do everything' to get results in peace talks by end of the year
- Ukrainian attacks have reduced Russia's oil processing capacity by 30%
- Ukrainian strike sets Russia's Baltic Sea port ablaze
- Latvia and Lithuania warned people of drone threats
Russia and Ukraine exchange attacks on capitals as US envoys head to Moscow
02:54 , Shweta SharmaRussia and Ukraine launched attacks targeting each other's capitals early on Thursday, just hours after peace talks in Abu Dhabi ended without a breakthrough on key issues.
Explosions were heard across Kyiv in the early hours, although there were no immediate reports of damage.
Meanwhile, Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin said Russian air defences had shot down five drones heading towards the Russian capital.
The attacks came a day after Russian and Ukrainian negotiators concluded two days of US-mediated peace talks in Abu Dhabi, where they agreed to a prisoner exchange but remained divided over major issues, including territory.
US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff are expected to meet Russian president Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Thursday for further negotiations.
The pair are also expected to raise the possibility of bringing European partners into the peace process, with Kushner insisting they must have a seat at the negotiating table.
The US negotiators are then scheduled to travel to Ireland for talks with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, who is due to attend a meeting of European leaders there.
Spate of deadly bear attacks in Russia caused by hunters enlisting in army - report
02:19 , Alex RossA spate of deadly bear attacks has left 35 people dead across Russia since the start of the spring, with the latest victim a security guard at a holiday camp in Kamchatka, Russia's RIA state news agency reported on Wednesday.
The number of deaths has risen sharply in recent weeks, rising to 35 from 22 as of early October, according to RIA.
Russia's population of brown bears has more than doubled in the last three decades to 308,000, in part due to shorter and milder winters. Some regions have struggled to control bear numbers and the government said in September it was drawing up measures to make it easier cull them.
Alexei Tsydenov, the head of Russia's Buryatia region where at least two people have been killed by bears so far this year, told state TV this month that rising bear numbers and the spike in attacks on humans was partly linked to hunters enlisting in the army at a time when Russia's forces are fighting in Ukraine.
Ukraine's military says it struck Russian Baltic port of Ust-Luga
01:17 , Alex RossUkraine's military said on Wednesday that its drones had struck Russia's major Baltic port of Ust-Luga, a key point for shipment of oil products, triggering a fire and damaging part of its network of tanks.
"According to preliminary information, as a result of drone strikes on the port's oil infrastructure, the tank network suffered the most damage," Ukraine's General Staff said on Telegram, noting five tanks had sustained damage.
Russian ambassador to US dies, foreign ministry says
00:14 , Alex RossRussia's ambassador to the United States, Alexander Darchiev, has died aged 66, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.
Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said later on Telegram that Darchiev had died in Moscow from a chronic illness.
Putin appointed Darchiev, a veteran diplomat known in the past for his public denunciations of the West, as ambassador to Washington in March 2025 to lead a rapprochement with the Trump administration that has rattled Ukraine and European countries.
Trump's envoys to meet Putin in Moscow on Thursday
Wednesday 11 November 2026 23:14 , Alex RossUS President Donald Trump's envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday in Moscow, Axios reported on Wednesday.
Ukraine frontline mapped: The land in dispute as peace talks end without breakthrough
Wednesday 11 November 2026 22:00 , James ReynoldsNegotiators for Russia and Ukraine emerged from a second day of US-brokered talks in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday confident about progress towards a long-awaited peace deal, despite lingering differences over territory.
Russia’s chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said that mutual understanding had been achieved on some issues and that more talks would be held, adding that the two sides had agreed on a large-scale prisoner swap.
Ukrainian negotiator David Arakhamia said that there was “good momentum” towards reaching a solution by the end of this year, but that Europe should also be represented in future discussions.
This week’s talks in the United Arab Emirates marked a restart for diplomacy some nine months after delegations last met in Geneva to discuss peace terms.
Here’s how the frontlines look as talks resume:
Ukraine frontline mapped: The land in dispute as peace talks end
Romanian intelligence agency says it identified Russian-linked cyber attack
Wednesday 11 November 2026 21:00 , James ReynoldsA hacking group linked to Russia's FSB security service staged a cyberattack on a Romanian government organisation last year, the country's intelligence agency said on Wednesday.
Russian-linked APT hacking group Turla was behind the December 2025 cyberattack, Romania's intelligence agency SRI said, adding that it had "implemented measures to counter the attack and remedy its effects".
"The attackers exploited a series of systemic vulnerabilities in Microsoft operating systems, but the attack was stopped after the National Cyberint Centre intervened," SRI said in a statement.
"No exfiltration of sensitive data was identified, and the affected email service has been fixed," it added, without identifying the government organisation that was targeted.
Kyiv says ‘fighting could end this year’ after peace talks but US warns of lack of trust
Wednesday 11 November 2026 20:13 , Maryam Zakir-HussainDavid Arakhamia, a senior member of Volodymyr Zelensky’s party, said peace talks have seen a “good momentum to reach a solution before the new year”.
Yuri Ushakov, a foreign policy adviser to Vladimir Putin, said on Wednesday that the two days of talks had been substantial and useful.
However, US mediators said there was a lack of trust between the warring sides.
Along with postwar security guarantees for both countries, other key hurdles are the fate of Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory and what role European countries will play in an eventual settlement.
Zelensky says progress in talks depends largely on how Americans talk to Russia
Wednesday 11 November 2026 20:04 , Maryam Zakir-HussainUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday that Kyiv hoped to achieve concrete results in talks on resolving the war with Russia this year, but that much depended on how the United States approached Moscow.
"We are living through these massive attacks. Of course, we want to get results by the end of this year, and of course, we will be doing everything to make that happen," Zelensky told a news conference in Dublin after two days of US-led trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi.
Zelensky said much depended on "the will of American side to pressure on Russia or not, it depends on format of their dialogue with Russians."
US soldier suspected of spying for Russia arrested by British counter-terror police
Wednesday 11 November 2026 20:00 , James ReynoldsA soldier in the US Army has been arrested by British counter-terror police in the UK on suspicion of spying for Russia.
The man, aged 41, was arrested near Gloucester on Tuesday following an investigation involving US authorities, US military and the FBI. He remains in custody at a London police station, Counter Terrorism Policing (CTP) London said.
The senior serviceman, who has not been named, was detained on suspicion of offences under the National Security Act 2023.
Police confirmed to The Independent the soldier had been serving at Imjin Barracks at Innsworth in Gloucestershire, which serves as the headquarters of Nato’s Allied Rapid Reaction Corps.
US soldier suspected of spying for Russia arrested by British counter-terror police
Ukraine captures first Indonesian prisoner of war trying to join Russian assault
Wednesday 11 November 2026 19:00 , James ReynoldsUkraine has captured its first Indonesian prisoner of war – a 49-year-old man from the island of Java – as Ukrainian officials report a sharp rise in Russia's recruitment from Indonesia.
The man was taken to the Zaporizhzhia region in southern Ukraine to join a Russian assault but reached Ukrainian-held territory after his group came under drone attack, where Ukrainian forces captured him, according to Ukraine's state-run I Want to Live project.
The project said 283 Indonesians were recruited in the first nine months of this year to fight for Russia, against no more than 10 in the previous three years. The figure comes from Ukrainian officials and may change.
Ukraine captures first Indonesian prisoner of war trying to join Russian assault
Watch: Rubio admits ‘a lot of work to be done’ for peace after first day of Kyiv-Moscow talks
Wednesday 11 November 2026 18:00 , James ReynoldsFrance warns Germany its missile programme ‘could accidentally provoke nuclear war with Russia’
Wednesday 11 November 2026 17:00 , James ReynoldsFrance has warned Germany that it could trigger a nuclear conflict with Russia if it does not define how it would use its newly acquired long-range missiles.
Several countries including Germany the UK, Poland and others have taken steps to bolster their defences in a bid to deter Moscow from any attacks on Europe.
As part of this preparation, Berlin is reportedly acquiring and developing ground-range missiles with ranges varying from 500km to more than 2,000km.
France warns Germany it ‘could accidentally provoke nuclear war with Russia’
Russia's negotiator on Ukraine rejects option of territorial swaps with Kyiv
Wednesday 11 November 2026 16:20 , James ReynoldsRussia sees no possibility of exchanging territory with Ukraine as part of any peace deal, Vladimir Medinsky, Moscow's chief negotiator in peace negotiations, said on Wednesday after two days of talks in Abu Dhabi.
Medinsky and Ukrainian negotiators had earlier reported some progress in the talks that ended on Wednesday, but US mediators said there was a lack of trust between the warring sides and differences remained on issues including territory.
Medinsky was also cited as saying that if what he called a fair security system for Europe could be created, it would help ensure peace on the continent for decades, and possibly centuries, to come.
He added that Russia's buffer zone along its border with Ukraine was already substantial and would keep expanding, according to the Interfax news agency.
Ukraine frontline mapped: The land in dispute as peace talks end without breakthrough
Wednesday 11 November 2026 15:40 , James ReynoldsNegotiators for Russia and Ukraine emerged from a second day of US-brokered talks in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday confident about progress towards a long-awaited peace deal, despite lingering differences over territory.
Russia’s chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said that mutual understanding had been achieved on some issues and that more talks would be held, adding that the two sides had agreed on a large-scale prisoner swap.
Ukrainian negotiator David Arakhamia said that there was “good momentum” towards reaching a solution by the end of this year, but that Europe should also be represented in future discussions.
This week’s talks in the United Arab Emirates marked a restart for diplomacy some nine months after delegations last met in Geneva to discuss peace terms.
Here’s how the frontlines look as talks resume:
Ukraine frontline mapped: The land in dispute as peace talks end
The latest: Zelensky says Putin ‘lives in a different reality’ as Abu Dhabi talks resume
Wednesday 11 November 2026 14:52 , James ReynoldsVolodymyr Zelensky claimed the US agreed with Ukraine’s assessment of what was happening on the battlefield and that Vladimir Putin lived in a “different reality”.
The Ukrainian leader said Russia had claimed at the peace talks in Abu Dhabi, which resumed for the second day on Wednesday, that it held half of the Donbas region in Ukraine’s east.
“Putin lives in a different reality,” Zelensky said. “I can draw a picture for him too where I fully occupy Russia. But it’s not true.”
Zelensky’s comments came as his forces launched drones at Ust-Luga in Russia's northwest, regional governor Aleksandr Drozdenko said, adding that the strikes caused a fire and cut off a power station.
Ukrainian attacks on refineries since October have reportedly cut Russia's oil refining capacity by 30 per cent. In the last week alone, the strikes have disrupted operations at nine of the nation’s 35 major refineries, Reuters reported, citing unnamed sources.
Putin is open to EU contacts, including with Merz, TASS cites Kremlin
Wednesday 11 November 2026 13:00 , Maira ButtRussian President Vladimir Putin is open to contacts with the European Union, including with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Russian state agency TASS said on Wednesday, citing the Kremlin.
Watch: Rubio admits ‘a lot of work to be done’ for peace after first day of Kyiv-Moscow talks
Wednesday 11 November 2026 13:00 , Maira ButtRussian strikes in Odesa kills 3
Wednesday 11 November 2026 12:30 , Maira ButtRussian strikes in Odesa have killed three people and injured 11, according to the region’s governor.
It follows attacks on six large electricity substations in Ukraine’s four central regions earlier in the day.
Russia strikes six Ukrainian electricity facilities
Wednesday 11 November 2026 12:00 , MehrajRussia struck six large electricity substations in Ukraine's four central regions, prime minister Sergii Koretskyi said on Wednesday.
He said on the Telegram app that in addition to hitting the energy infrastructure, Russian forces struck railways in Ukraine's east and centre.
Ukraine strikes elite Russian ‘Rubicon’ drone unit in occupied territory
Wednesday 11 November 2026 11:30 , Alisha Rahaman SarkarUkrainian forces have struck Russia’s elite Rubicon drone unit overnight, Kyiv’s military said hours before peace talks got underway with Moscow in Abu Dhabi.
The Rubicon Center for Advanced Unmanned Technologies was formed in August 2024 by the Russian ministry of defence and is a sprawling unit operating in the heart of occupied territory.
Its key aims include hunting down Ukrainian drone teams on the ground and intercepting reconnaissance and strike drones. It serves as the heart of Russian drone missions against Ukraine.
More here.
Ukraine strikes elite Russian ‘Rubicon’ drone unit in occupied territory
