Ukrainian and Russian negotiators were set to meet for the latest round of US-brokered peace talks as Moscow battered targets across Ukraine with hundreds of drones and missiles.
The February 17 talks being held in Geneva come a week before the fourth anniversary of Russia's all-out war on Ukraine, a conflict that has killed or wounded some 2 million people on both sides.
The US-led efforts to resolve the conflict have progressed further than any other time since the months after the February 24, 2022, invasion. However, Russia has shown little inclination to back away from its hard-line demands, which include Kyiv relinquishing territory it still holds in the eastern Donbas region.
Ukraine, meanwhile, has pushed Washington and European allies for iron-clad security guarantees that would help protect it against future Russian aggression.
Both Ukraine and Russia have described earlier rounds of talks focusing on granular security issues as positive.
However, the Russian delegation attending the new talks includes Vladimir Medinsky, a revisionist historian and former culture minister whose views Ukraine has derided as "pseudo-historical."
Ahead of the talks, the leader of the Ukrainian delegation, Kyrylo Budanov, appeared to take a jab at Medinsky, saying, "We will discuss the lessons of our history with our colleagues and look for the right conclusions."
The two men charged with leading the US effort are special envoy Steve Witkoff and the son-in-law of President Donald Trump, Jared Kushner. US officials said Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, who has played a prominent role in the past, would also be attending, along with the top US military officer for European forces.
On the eve of the talks, Trump, who has been frustrated by his inability to resolve the conflict, appeared to lean on Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
"We have big talks. It's gonna be very easy," he told reporters. "Ukraine better come to the table fast. That's all I'm telling you."
Both on the battlefield and in negotiations, Russia appears to believe it has the upper hand. While Russian forces have been grinding forward at a snail's pace across the front line, Moscow has devastated Ukraine's energy infrastructure. Millions have struggled amid an unusually cold winter without heat or electricity.
Ukraine's military said Russia fired more than 420 drones and missiles at targets across the country. Emergency workers reported wounded civilians in the Black Sea port city of Odesa and the northern city of Sumy.
Meanwhile, in Russian-annexed Crimea, Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Moscow-installed administrator of the port city of Sevastopol, said more than 24 drones were shot down during "one of the longest attacks in recent times."
RFE/RL was not able to independently confirm the reported attack on Crimea.
