Russia Hits 'NATO-Linked' Ships In Black Sea? Kyiv In 'Dark Mode' As UAE Talks Loom

Russia has intensified attacks on Ukraine ahead of US-mediated peace talks in Abu Dhabi on November 10 and 11, targeting energy infrastructure, Black Sea shipping and civilian areas. The escalation comes as France confirms European participation in the negotiations and US reconnaissance aircraft reportedly patrol near Russian territory.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said France would attend the talks, although its representative was yet to be named. US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Donald Trump's son-in-law, will lead Washington's delegation. Discussions will cover ending the war, de-escalation and post-war security guarantees. Kushner said earlier Brussels discussions with Ukraine, NATO and European partners had been productive.

However, disagreements remain over territory and security. Trump told CBS News that Ukraine could emerge with a "little bit different shape", echoing Moscow's demands for the entire Donbas region and recognition of occupied territories. Zelenskyy considers such concessions unacceptable. Russia also opposes Ukraine joining NATO and wants restrictions on its military, while negotiations must address security guarantees for both Ukraine and Europe. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said progress had been made, but nothing was finalized.

Russia claimed to have struck three cargo vessels near Odesa and Chornomorsk, alleging they carried weapons or military supplies for Ukraine, and two electricity substations. These claims remain unverified. Meanwhile, a major Russian barrage involving 289 drones, 17 ballistic missiles and 59 cruise missiles was reported across nine Ukrainian regions. DTEK said more than 600,000 people in Dnipropetrovsk lost electricity, while wider outages affected over 850,000. Three DTEK power plants halted operations. The Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant also briefly lost external electricity and relied on backup generators before supply was restored.

In Komyshuvakha, 55 people were killed when Russian guided bombs hit a former school and underground humanitarian shelter on November 2. Around 45 remained missing. A subsequent Russian drone struck rescuers at the same site, damaging equipment. Six police officers were among the dead. Ukraine accused Russia of a double-tap attack targeting emergency responders.

Separately, US reconnaissance aircraft Bombardier Artemis II reportedly circled Russia's Kaliningrad region twice on November 8, flying through Polish and Lithuanian airspace and international Baltic waters without entering Russian airspace. A US Navy P-8A Poseidon also patrolled the Black Sea.

Meanwhile, an EU assessment accused Russia-linked Operation Overload, active since 2023, of exploiting France's October riots through fake news videos, cloned voices and fabricated claims about migrant assaults and imminent terror attacks. A separate French assessment found MAGA-linked and Israeli-linked accounts amplified anti-immigrant and anti-Islamist narratives. Their top 10 posts received over 49 million and 35 million views, respectively, against 2.8 million for pro-Russian accounts. The EU found no evidence that foreign actors instigated the riots, describing their actions as exploitation of existing unrest.