Global & US Headlines
Second U.S.–Brokered Russia-Ukraine Peace Round Opens in Abu Dhabi Amid Escalating Grid Strikes
On 4-5 Feb 2026, Russian and Ukrainian envoys, joined for the first time by NATO’s SACEUR, met for a two-day U.S.-mediated session in Abu Dhabi even as Moscow’s forces intensified attacks, culminating in a nationwide power-grid bombardment on 7 Feb.
Focusing Facts
- The talks began 4 Feb 2026 in Abu Dhabi with a trilateral plenary that included U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, followed by thematic break-outs and a scheduled reconvening on 5 Feb.
- A Russian cluster-munition strike on a Ukrainian market the morning the talks opened killed 7 civilians and wounded dozens, according to local authorities.
- Ukrenergo reported emergency outages in ‘most regions’ after Russian missiles hit the Burshtynska and Dobrotvirska plants on 7 Feb 2026, forcing Kyiv to request power aid from Poland.
Context
Great-power wars often negotiate under fire: the 1951 Kaesong talks during the Korean War and the 1972–73 Paris sessions on Vietnam both mixed diplomacy with intensified bombing. This round fits that grim pattern, signalling that battlefield leverage—not conference tables—still drives concessions. Hosting in the UAE underscores a century-long diffusion of diplomatic gravity away from Euro-Atlantic venues, while NATO’s SACEUR in the room hints that a putative ‘regional’ conflict is structurally welded to the broader Euro-Atlantic security order. Recurrent targeting of civilian energy grids echoes WWII’s strategic bombing logic and foreshadows how critical-infrastructure warfare will dominate 21st-century conflicts, where kilowatts may prove as decisive as territory. Whether these talks matter in 2126 will depend less on this week’s communiqués than on whether they mark the start of a durable norm against infrastructure strikes—or just another mid-war photo-op preceding a frozen conflict line reminiscent of the 38th parallel.
Perspectives
US regional newspapers reprinting Associated Press
US regional newspapers reprinting Associated Press — Frame the Abu Dhabi meetings as meaningful U.S.-led diplomacy that could inch the war toward a settlement, while simultaneously reporting fresh Russian attacks as proof Kyiv still needs Western help. Storylines accentuate the presence of U.S. envoys (e.g., Jared Kushner) and progress-sounding formats, implicitly portraying Washington as indispensable peacemaker even though the articles provide little concrete evidence of breakthroughs.
Business-oriented Indian press
Business-oriented Indian press — Stresses the war’s rising civilian and economic costs and portrays the talks as just one element among many—including energy shortages, casualty statistics and NATO involvement—required for a viable settlement. Coverage folds the conflict into a broader economic/security news mix, so the humanitarian angle can feel instrumental and the narrative subtly promotes stability as a market necessity rather than focusing on Ukrainian agency.
Global South and Turkish outlets
Global South and Turkish outlets — Highlight Russia’s latest ‘massive’ strikes on Ukraine’s power grid to argue that negotiations are proving ineffective and that civilians remain the main victims of an unchecked war. By foregrounding the futility of U.S.–brokered talks, these reports can amplify skepticism of Western diplomatic leadership and may blur distinctions between aggressor and defender to stress a broader narrative of great-power failure.