Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said that Russian ruler Vladimir Putin ordered a massive strike on Ukraine precisely when delegations were gathering in Abu Dhabi to advance a peace process under US auspices.
"Cynically, Putin ordered a brutal massive missile strike against Ukraine right while delegations are meeting in Abu Dhabi to advance the America-led peace process. His missiles hit not only our people, but also the negotiation table," Sybiha wrote on X.
The attack targeted Ukraine's largest cities—Kyiv and Kharkiv—and left Chernihiv without electricity. Russia's primary targets remained unchanged: energy facilities and residential areas, the Foreign Minister noted.
"This barbaric attack once again proves that Putin’s place is not at the board of peace, but at the dock of the special tribunal," Sybiha added.
The first day of talks involving Russian and American delegations in the United Arab Emirates concluded on the evening of 23 January.
Strike on Kharkiv: number of injured rises to 31
The number of people injured in the nighttime enemy attack on Kharkiv has increased to 31, said city mayor Ihor Terekhov.
Earlier Kharkiv Regional Military Administration reported about 27 injured.
The only injured child is a 12-year-old boy, local authorities report. The city recorded 25 strikes across 10 locations. More than 40 people were evacuated from one building.
During the night of 24 January, Russian strike drones hit residential buildings in Kharkiv's Industrialnyi and Nemyshlianskyi districts. Apartments in a high-rise building caught fire, as did a dormitory housing displaced persons, a hospital, and a maternity ward. Among the 14 initially reported injured were a pregnant woman and a child.
Russians attacked Roshen confectionery factory in Kyiv: one dead and several injured
On the morning of 24 January, Russians struck the Roshen confectionery factory in Kyiv's Holosiivskyi district, killing one woman and injuring two people, the State Emergency Service and Kyiv City Prosecutor's Office reported in their Telegram channels.
"In Holosiivskyi district, as a result of shelling, there is damage on the upper floor of a confectionery factory. One person died and two more were injured," the State Emergency Service stated.
Member of Parliament Viktoriia Siumar from the European Solidarity faction wrote on Facebook that a woman working in the production workshop was killed by a direct hit from a Shahed drone.
"The workshop also has serious damage," she noted.
Russian occupying forces struck Kyiv with strike drones and ballistic missiles. Hits were recorded in three districts, with at least one person killed and three in serious condition.
As a result of Russia's new massive strike on energy infrastructure on 24 January, consumers in Kyiv, Kyiv Oblast, Chernihiv Oblast, and Kharkiv Oblast are without electricity.
In Kyiv, damage to critical infrastructure left nearly 6,000 buildings without heating following the massive enemy attack.
