Ukraine and Russia wrap 'productive' first day of U.S.-backed peace talks

A woman walks near the site of an apartment building hit by a Russian drone strike in Kyiv on Tuesday. KYIV - Ukrainian and Russian officials wrapped up a productive first day of new U.S.-brokered talks in Abu Dhabi, Kyiv's lead negotiator said on Wednesday, as fighting in Europe's biggest conflict since World War II raged on. The two-day trilateral meetings come after Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia had exploited a U.S.-backed energy truce last week to stockpile munitions, attacking Ukraine with a record number of ballistic missiles on Tuesday. The work was substantive and productive, focused on concrete steps and practical solutions, Rustem Umerov, the head of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, wrote on X. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.