Russian drone strikes on Ukraine killed more than a dozen in the Dnipropetrovsk region and damaged a maternity hospital in the city of Zaporizhzhya as a new round of negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow was announced for next week.
Two separate drone strikes killed at least 17 people in Ukraine's southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region, injuring at least seven others, Ukrainian officials reported on February 1.
Fifteen people were killed when a Russian drone struck near a bus in the Pavlohrad area, while two more died after a drone hit a private house in the region's capital, Dnipro, earlier in the day.
DTEK, Ukraine's largest private utilities company, which owned the bus, added that those killed in the Pavlohrad area were miners returning from their shift.
Separately, there were ongoing air raids in the neighboring city of Zaporizhzhya, which began shortly after midnight. Regional governor Ivan Fedorov said that at least six people were injured in the attack on maternity hospital.
Fedorov added that two of the injured women were undergoing medical examinations at the time of impact. In a Telegram post showing the aftermath, he described the strike as "yet another proof of a war directed against life."
He later added that a secondary attack on the city, which lies less than 50 kilometers from the country's southern front line, injured three more people in another neighborhood. The regional governor said that a small boy was among them.
New Round Of Talks In Abu Dhabi
The February 1 attacks came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that a new round of talks to end the nearly four-year war is now set to resume in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on February 4-5.
"We are interested in ensuring that the result brings us closer to a real and dignified end to the war," Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram after being briefed by Kyiv's negotiation team.
The previous round of talks was held at the same location on January 23-24. Initially in a trilateral format, they included representatives from Ukraine, Russia, and the United States.
Described as "constructive" by US officials, negotiations later appeared to have brought a brief halt to strikes on energy infrastructure by both sides.
However, despite what US officials saw as a positive dynamic in renewed diplomatic efforts, Russian air strikes continued to pound civilian infrastructure and logistics across Ukraine, as temperatures in the country dropped to as low as minus 30 degrees Celsius.
At least 90 Russian drones were launched against the country's regions on February 1, Ukraine's air force stated, while more than 6,000 drones, 5,500 guided bombs, and 158 missiles were used by Russia in January, according to Zelenskyy.
There is no sign of easing on the front lines, nor is the Kremlin backing down from its long-held maximalist demands. Russian military forces continue their attempt to push westward through eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian armed forces reported at least 44 battles occured on the front lines in the past day.
In an interview with Russian state-owned TASS news agency on February 1, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev -- currently deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council -- said that Russia will "soon" win military victory but added that it was key to "prevent" any further conflict.
Some Kremlin critics consider Medvedev a provocative extremist, others say his statements reflect the thinking of many senior Russian policymakers.
