Vladimir Putin is abusing the ceasefire talks to attack civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, a spokesperson of the European Commission said on Wednesday.

Anitta Hipper, an EU spokesperson, told reporters that the Russian president can “end this war right now”.

She added: « He doesn’t show any signs of wanting to do so. He misuses even the discussions on the ceasefire to continuously attack the civilian infrastructure and kill innocent people », EU spokesperson Anitta Hipper said.

Envoys from Russia and Ukraine met in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday for another round of U.S.-brokered talks on ending the almost four-year war, a Ukrainian negotiator said.

The delegations from Moscow and Kyiv were joined in the United Arab Emirates by U.S. officials, Rustem Umerov, Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council chief, who was present at the meeting, said on social media.

Umerov said the planned two-day talks started with all three delegations present, after which negotiators were to break into groups according to topics and then meet as a full group again at the end.

The American team was due to include special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who also attended last month’s meeting, according to the White House.

China’s president Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin both hailed their ties during a video call on Wednesday held in the run-up to the fourth anniversary of Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

Putin said the Moscow-Beijing relationship was an important stabilising factor at a time of growing global turbulence, in a Russian state television broadcast of the talks.

Xi, speaking via an interpreter, called for the countries to work out a « grand plan » to further bilateral relations which he said were advancing in the right direction.

He said China-Russia ties had « withstood international turbulence » and pledged to coordinate with Moscow on issues concerning their core interests.

China and Russia declared a « no limits » strategic partnership days before Putin sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022.

Since then, China has emerged as an economic lifeline for Russia by stepping up trade with the northern neighbour while Western powers piled sanctions on Moscow.

The Kremlin said on Wednesday that working level talks between Russia and France were under way, ahead of a possible meeting between Vladimir Putin and Emmanuel Macron.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there was nothing to announce for now when it came to the possibly meeting of the presidents.

The French leader said on Tuesday that he was looking at resuming contact with Putin on the war in Ukraine even though he saw little readiness from Moscow to negotiate a ceasefire and that discussions were taking place at a technical level.

Ukraine’s sports minister has branded Fifa president Gianni Infantino “infantile” and “irresponsible” for his desire to overturn Russia’s ban from world football.

Fifa’s ruling executive and European football’s governing body Uefa imposed a global ban on Russia at the start of the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, when other European nations said they would refuse to play or host Russia’s matches.

Four years later, Vladimir Putin shows no signs of backing down and the war is still raging, but Infantino has signalled his intention to bring Russia back into the fold, saying the ban has been a failure.

“We have to [look at readmitting Russia]. Definitely,” Infantino told Sky Sports. “This ban has not achieved anything; it has just created more frustration and hatred.

“Having girls and boys from Russia being able to play football games in other parts of Europe would help.”

Our sport live editor Luke Baker writes:

We’re hearing more from Ukraine’s foreign ministry spokeswoman, who was speaking as talks in Abu Dhabi got underway.

Recent mass Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure will hinder peace talks, they told a news briefing on Wednesday.

Kyiv is seeking to understand what Moscow’s and Washington’s “real intentions” are regarding the talks in Abu Dhabi, she added.

The latest round of trilateral peace talks between Kyiv, Moscow and Washington will focus on military matters, Ukraine’s foreign ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi said on Wednesday, without clarifying exactly what this entails.

Tykhyi said Ukraine wanted to hear feedback from the Russian delegation about issues discussed in previous talks, and that Kyiv wanted to understand what Moscow and Washington are « really ready for ».

Russia faces a steep drop in oil income if Donald Trump successfully pressures India to stop importing Russian crude, analysts and traders have told Reuters new agency.

This will take place because losing its top purchaser of sea exports would force Moscow to slash prices to find other buyers.

Trump on Monday cut US tariffs on Indian goods in a trade deal he said also included provisions for India to halt oil imports from Russia, the world’s second-biggest oil exporter.

The US president had already claimed over the past year that Indian prime minister Narendra Modi agreed to stop buying Russian oil.

India never halted imports, however, citing its need for energy security and for cheap oil. The Kremlin says energy cooperation with India, its second largest oil buyer after China, is strong after Russian president Vladimir Putin visited the country in December 2025.

Ukraine’s state-owned oil and gas major Naftogaz said on Wednesday that it has received delivery of almost 100 million cubic metres of US LNG, the first such delivery in 2026.

In a statement on the company’s website, Naftogaz said the LNG was delivered in partnership with Poland’s Orlen, and that further deliveries were expected in February or March.