US and Ukrainian officials will begin a third straight day of talks in Miami on December 6, after Russia unleashed a large-scale missile and drone attack on Ukrainian infrastructure and power plants.
The overnight strikes came after senior Ukrainian and US negotiators jointly said after ongoing negotiations in Florida that “real progress” depends on Moscow’s desire to end the war.
“Both parties agreed that real progress toward any agreement depends on Russia’s readiness to show serious commitment to long-term peace, including steps toward de-escalation and cessation of killings,” said a US summary of the talks posted late on December 5.
SEE ALSO: Can Europe Push China To Help End Russia's War In Ukraine?The statement was issued by US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Rustem Umerov, the secretary of Ukraine’s national security council and lead negotiator, and came shortly before a large-scale Russian drone and missile attack damaged power facilities in eight Ukrainian regions.
The strikes caused blackouts and forced nuclear power plants, including Ukraine's Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Plant that is under Russian-control, to cut power output, Ukrainian officials and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on December 6. The agency says that power at the Zaporizhzhya plant has since been restored.
The Russian Defense Ministry said its forces launched a "massive strike" overnight in response to what it called Ukrainian attacks on civilian targets.
The latest barrage follows two days of talks that were called “constructive discussions” by US and Ukrainian officials amid a renewed US push to reach a peace deal to end the nearly four-year war.
The third day of talks, which are also being attended by US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and Andrii Hnatov, the chief of staff of Kyiv’s armed forces, come after Ukraine’s negotiating team was briefed on discussions earlier this week in Moscow between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Witkoff and Kushner.
The US special envoy reportedly spoke with Putin for nearly five hours on December 2 at the Kremlin, but Russian officials said that “no compromise” had been reached in the talks.
The State Of Play On Ukraine Peace Talks
The recent flurry of diplomacy around ending the war was sparked when a US 28-point peace plan was leaked to the media in November. That original proposal appeared to heavily favor Russia, although it has since undergone several changes to take Kyiv’s concerns more into account.
The most recent version of the proposal has not been shared publicly.
Following the talks in Russia, Putin said he was ready to continue meeting the Americans “as many times as needed.”
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Battle For Pokrovsk Update: Ukraine Struggles To Keep Vital Supply Route Open
In other statements this week, the Russian president took a more defiant tone, telling India Today on December 5 during a trip to New Delhi that Ukrainian troops should fully leave the Donbas area of eastern Ukraine this week or Russia would "liberate these territories by force."
Ukraine and its allies in Europe have called into question the Kremlin’s commitment to ending the war, and the recent US statement appears to shift emphasis to Russia’s willingness to compromise.
Major points of contention remain between the two sides, including about providing security guarantees for Ukraine in the event of a peace deal and territorial concessions.
Russia currently controls about one-fifth of Ukraine's territory, including large portions of the Donbas that is made up of Donetsk and Luhansk provinces.
Overnight Strikes Target Ukrainian Cities, Railways
Russia has intensified its attacks on Ukraine's energy sector and infrastructure in recent weeks, targeting power stations and railway hubs as winter temperatures fall.
The Ukrainian military said on December 6 that Russia launched 653 drones and 51 missiles on Ukraine overnight, with Ukrainian forces downing 585 drones and 30 missiles.
Power and heat generation facilities in Chernihiv, Zaporizhzhia, Lviv, and Dnipropetrovsk regions were main targets, Ukraine's Ministry for Development of Communities and Territories said, adding that 9,500 customers were without heat and 34,000 without water supply in the southern Odesa region on the morning of December 6.
SEE ALSO: How A Ukrainian Drone Strike On Russia Has Crippled Kazakh Oil ExportsAmong other key infrastructure sites that were targeted was a railway hub near Kyiv, where the depot and railway carriages were damaged, Ukrzaliznytsia, Ukraine's state railway company said.
The railway did not report any casualties from the attack.
The Russian Defense Ministry said its air defenses had shot down 116 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory overnight on December 6 and footage circulated on Russian Telegram channels appeared to show a Ukrainian strike on Russia's Ryazan oil refinery.
RFE/RL was not able to independently verify the footage.
Ukraine did not immediately comment on the alleged attack.
Pavel Malkov, Ryazan's regional governor, said a residential building had been damaged in a drone attack and that drone debris had fallen on the grounds of an "industrial facility" but did not mention the refinery.