MUCH of Ukraine was plunged into freezing darkness today after Russia carried out further strikes on its power systems overnight on Thursday and into this morning.

Ukrenergo, the country’s state grid operator, warned that the energy situation had “significantly” deteriorated today, and that there were emergency power outages across much of the country following Russia’s attacks.

“The equipment is operating at the limits of its capabilities,” it said.

The European Union has promised to send almost 450 emergency generators to the war-ravaged country as its people battle through a brutal winter. Temperatures have frequently dropped below -10°C this month and Russia’s attacks have left millions without power and heating.

The European Commission said today that the 447 generators — worth $4.3 million — are intended to “restore power to hospitals, shelters and critical services.”

Meanwhile, President Volodymyr Zelensky said the future of Ukraine’s eastern Donbass region will be a key focus as negotiators from Ukraine, Russia and the United States met in Abu Dhabi today for talks to end Russia’s nearly four-year invasion.

The three-way talks come hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the settlement in Ukraine with US President Donald Trump’s envoys during marathon overnight talks.

The Kremlin insisted that to reach a peace deal, Kiev must withdraw its troops from the areas in the east that Russia illegally annexed but never fully captured.

Mr Zelensky, meanwhile, reiterated his openness to establishing a free trade zone under Ukraine’s control in the country’s east. He said he discussed the proposal with Mr Trump in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday, and told reporters: “I think it will be positive for our business.”

Today is the first known time that officials from the Trump administration simultaneously met with negotiators from both Ukraine and Russia.

Mr Zelensky told reporters after meeting with Trump in Davos on Thursday that while the future status of land in eastern Ukraine currently occupied by Russia remains unresolved, the peace proposals are “nearly ready.”

The Kremlin offered little detail beyond calling the meeting a “working group on security issues.”