As usual the Russian prelude to Ukraine “peace” talks is a brutal reminder of its power, and so the first three-way peace talks this weekend between Russia, Ukraine and the US were ushered in by a wave of drone attacks on Kyiv, striking its battered energy system, leaving 6,000 buildings without heating. The draft 20-point peace plan under discussion originated in the autumn as a proposal negotiated between the US and Russia. It has since been revised several times, with input from Ukraine, the US, European states and other countries. The Ukrainian side said yesterday that headway had been made on the critical area of US security guarantees. Ukraine’s European partners remain excluded from the talks despite their centrality to any prospective deal and the repeated insistence by Washington that Ukraine is Europe’s problem.

Source: The Irish Times January 25, 2026 23:21 UTC