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Europe Today: Russia strikes Kyiv as peace talks continue in Abu Dhabi
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READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2026/02/04/europe-today-russia-strikes-kyiv-as-peace-talks-continue-in-abu-dhabi
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00:00Good morning. It is Wednesday the 4th of February. I'm Maeve McMahon and this is Europe Today.
00:21Your daily fix of European news and analysis. Live here on Euronews.
00:26Coming up, more attacks in Ukraine. Russian strikes have been pounding the capital, Kyiv, and the country's second largest city, Kharkiv, triggering deadly fires and further damaging energy infrastructure.
00:40While the US President Donald Trump insists talks to end the war are progressing, many Ukrainians are focused on survival as temperatures plunge to minus 20 degrees.
00:50All eyes today are on Abu Dhabi, where US brokered talks involving Ukrainian and Russian representatives are due to resume.
00:59For the latest, we're joined here in the studio by Euronews' Ukraine correspondent, Sasha Vakilina.
01:04Good morning, Sasha.
01:05Morning.
01:06So look, the Kremlin is targeting Ukrainian power plants just ahead of these talks. These alleged peace talks in Abu Dhabi. What should we expect today?
01:12Well, there is not much hope, to be honest, because given the Russian stance and given their recent attacks, and it was one of the largest ones happened on the 3rd of February, in terms of how many ballistic missiles Moscow used to attack Ukraine, specifically civilian energy infrastructure, 32 ballistic missiles launched against Ukraine.
01:31This is the record number for this type of weapon. Zelensky already spoke, saying that Russia chooses terror and escalation rather than diplomacy, given that the attack happened 24 hours before those second round of talks in Abu Dhabi.
01:45He also said that the work of the Ukrainian negotiating team will be adjusted accordingly.
01:51Mark Rutte, Secretary General of NATO, was in Kiev hours after that attack, and he also insisted on the fact that whatever happens, whatever deal or agreement is reached,
02:01it has to be long-lasting. Let's take a listen.
02:05You rightly do not want another Budapest memorandum or a Minsk agreement.
02:15Some European allies have announced that they will deploy troops to Ukraine after a deal is reached.
02:23But all of that will only be available and possible if there is a deal, Maeve, and we are not there yet now.
02:47The Kremlin insisted again that to solve any critical issues like the territories, Zelensky would have to go to Moscow to what will do with Zelensky.
02:56And his office said that in this case, Putin could very well as well come to Kiev to sort that out.
03:01And what about President Macron? We saw him yesterday just saying he wants to reopen dialogue with the Kremlin. Tell us more.
03:07Yeah, that's interesting because Macron did speak and he said that the discussions are underway at the technical level about restoring the dialogue.
03:15He also insisted once again that this is being done in transparency and consultation with Volodymyr Zelensky.
03:22That was very important for him to make it clear that he's not doing it behind Zelensky's back and behind Ukraine.
03:27Remember the principle of nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine.
03:30Now let's take a listen to what President Macron had to say.
03:34It is underway, with technical discussions currently in progress, to support this.
03:39These efforts are being conducted in consultations with President Zelensky and our key European partners.
03:44It is important for Europeans to restore their own channels of communication.
03:48While such dialogue is useful, it does not appear that Russia is genuinely willing to negotiate for peace in the coming days or weeks.
03:55President Macron is just taking all the chances and all the possibilities then.
03:59Mind you, in the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, Macron was among the very few European leaders who actually kept contact and kept those calls with Putin going for a few months.
04:08And Macron was heavily criticized for doing that.
04:11And then the two of them spoke for the first time after a long break in summer 2025 when Macron asked Putin to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine.
04:19Well, we know by now that Putin did not agree on that and did not take it seriously.
04:22OK, Sasha and Vecilina, thank you so much for all those updates.
04:26And of course, you can keep an eye on Euronews.com for Sasha's reporting later on those talks.
04:31But now, coming up, we'll be joined by Michail Popsoi, the Moldovan politician serving as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs since January 2024.
04:41A strong advocate of Moldova's European integration, the Minister is in Brussels today on his first ever official visit since taking office.
04:50Deputy Prime Minister, welcome to Euronews. Welcome to Europe today.
04:53Morning. My pleasure.
04:55Great to have you with us.
04:56Look, it has been almost four years now since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
05:00How are you protecting Moldova from this impact?
05:04Well, the Republic of Moldova and its people have shown remarkable resilience in these past four years now.
05:09This is a testament to the unity and solidarity of our society, but also to the incredible support of the international community.
05:16First and foremost, our friends and partners in the European Union.
05:19So, this support has been put to good use to consolidate our defence, our cyber capabilities, our capacity to control the hybrid tactics that are being employed against us.
05:34But when it comes to defence, you're not in NATO and you're a neutral country, so therefore does not have aspirations to join NATO.
05:40But does that not make you feel uncomfortable, isolated, scared?
05:43Well, there is certainly a significant dose of anxiety for those that do not enjoy the NATO umbrella or any other major security guarantees, which is the case of the Republic of Moldova.
05:55We do have the constitutional constraints of neutrality, and ironically, the only country in the world that has been consistently violating Moldova's neutrality status has been the Russian Federation, which has kept troops and munitions against the express will of the Moldovan people and all Moldovan governments since the early 90s till now.
06:15And we are counting on the support of the international community to persuade the Kremlin to take the munitions and the troops out of the Republic of Moldova in order for us to be able to take stock of our sovereignty and to be able to truly develop and pursue the interests and the ambitions of our people.
06:36And as you heard earlier from our correspondent, Sasha Vakilina, big talks taking place today in Abu Dhabi, led by the US.
06:43Have you any faith or hope that these talks could potentially end this very long war?
06:47We do have a lot of faith in Moldova, and we know for a fact that there is nobody that wants peace more than our Ukrainian friends.
06:56But do you have faith in the Americans to lead these talks?
06:58We do have faith in the Trump administration's genuine will and genuine commitment to peace.
07:05It's just a matter of Kremlin not being particularly constructive, as we can see with the latest horrific attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
07:14And it is incredibly cynical, the Kremlin not being able to compete on the front line.
07:21They are choosing to attack soft targets, civilian targets, women and children and elderly, trying to cripple the Ukrainian nation, which they have not been able to do, not just for the past four years, but frankly, since 2014.
07:35Ukraine has resisted heroically.
07:37The international community has been helping meaningfully.
07:40And of course, it's high time for peace, but not just any peace, a lasting and sustainable and just peace.
07:46And we've seen President Macron.
07:48He's calling to re-engage in dialogue with Vladimir Putin after four years.
07:53Would you support this idea?
07:54Well, as a diplomat, it would be odd for me to be against dialogue.
07:57But in this particular instance, when the rockets are flying and children are dying and people are freezing every morning,
08:05I think a good basis for the beginning of a dialogue would be for these sort of things to stop and to have a real meaningful discussion on peace so that people can breathe with a sigh of relief.
08:19So it's not the time to talk to Putin?
08:20Not yet?
08:21Well, the discussions are happening anyway.
08:24They're happening in Abu Dhabi.
08:26They've been happening in other places.
08:28It's just a matter of those discussions bearing fruit.
08:31And as I mentioned earlier, there is nobody that wants peace more than Ukraine.
08:35That just simply cannot be questioned.
08:37It's just a matter of the degree to which the Kremlin is fully committed to this process.
08:41But we know for a fact that the Trump administration has a clear vision and the European Union and member states, of course, are fully committed to this process as well, just like we are.
08:49And what about Moldova?
08:50We've seen the President Maya Sandu call for potential unification with Romania.
08:55What's your view here?
08:56Well, the Republic of Moldova or the territory between the Prut and Nistri River used to be part of Romania.
09:03Many Moldovans are Romanian citizens.
09:05So these discussions about union with Romania have been a constant part of our political debates.
09:10About a third of the population have constantly been in favor with small changes.
09:14So this is normal part of political debates in Moldova, if you will.
09:20But there is not enough support if you were to put it to a referendum today, much like the earlier discussion with NATO.
09:27And this sort of decision, of course, would need to be taken with a vast majority support of the citizens in a democratic society like Moldova is.
09:35So this is a normal part of political process in the Republic of Moldova.
09:38Fiery debate, indeed, back home in Moldova.
09:40But, of course, you're in Brussels today and you're hoping one day to join the European Union.
09:44By when?
09:46Well, we have set ourselves a date to finish negotiations by 2028 to allow ourselves time to ratify the agreement.
09:55We have set this ambitious but yet realistic target in light of the progress that Moldova has been doing.
10:01And, in fact, last year, Moldova has made the largest progress in terms of its accession process compared to any other candidate country.
10:08So we are making significant reforms back home.
10:11We are doing the heavy lifting.
10:12But what about your pitch to EU countries who perhaps are hesitant about EU enlargement?
10:17Well, enlargement is indicating the credibility, the strength and the resilience of the European Peace Project.
10:25The fact that there are countries like Moldova and many others who see incredible value in the European Project
10:32is a vindication of what a success the European Union has been since the end of the Second World War.
10:39It has been a testament of the unity and solidarity and cooperation and peace.
10:43And, of course, we want to be part of this family.
10:46Okay. Deputy Prime Minister, thank you so much for coming in to us.
10:49We'll see you again. Best of luck for your busy day here.
10:51In Brussels. Well, now it is time to get the latest from our EU news editor, Maria Tadeo,
10:57who's reporting for us this week from the World Government Summit over in Dubai.
11:02Indeed, Maeve. Good morning from Dubai.
11:05And, of course, the focus here is Iran.
11:07Is this region now heading into a full-on conflict between the United States and Tehran?
11:12And certainly in the context of the overnight escalation when an Iranian drone, quote,
11:18approached aggressively a U.S. aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea.
11:23At the same time, the U.S. is building its own military presence, which could be read and interpreted in two ways.
11:30This is either a show of force to really prevent an escalation, a show of force to show Tehran that the U.S. is serious about its capabilities that could be deployed against them,
11:40or actually this is really the start now of a military operation that could take place potentially in the next few days,
11:48even if talks between the U.S. and Iran are still expected to take place at the end of the week.
11:53For the Gulf and the UAE, that is a concern.
11:57Yesterday we heard from one of the sharpest, really, diplomats in the region, Dr. Anwar Gargash.
12:03He was the man behind the Abraham Accords and the advisor to the Sheikh.
12:07And he told the World Government Summit a regional escalation can still be prevented.
12:12It will lead to instability.
12:14And Iran seriously now needs to engage in dialogue with the United States.
12:18Let's take a look.
12:19I think that the region has gone through various, various calamitous confrontations.
12:27I don't think we need another one.
12:29But I would like to see direct Iranian-American negotiations leading to understandings that we don't have these issues every other day.
12:40Iran today needs to reach a deal.
12:43They need to rebuild their relationship with the United States.
12:46I think through reaching a deal, a political deal, a wider geostrategic deal that will actually be beneficial to the area,
12:56the Iranians are also helping themselves in ultimately what they need, which is rebuild their economy.
13:01And that was Dr. Anwar Gargash, as I mentioned, one of the most influential diplomats in this region, in the Gulf.
13:08And there's this dual track at the moment in which, yes, there is this military pent-up escalation and build-up.
13:15But at the same time, as I mentioned, talks between the delegations of the United States and Iran are still expected at this hour to take place at the end of this week.
13:25Maria Tadeo in Dubai there for us.
13:27And another big story, of course, coming out of that Dubai summit is Spain's Pedro Sanchez calling for a social media ban for under-16s.
13:34We will dive into that topic tonight on The Ring here on your news, so tune in for that.
13:39But now, with uncertainty gripping the world and tariff threats startling Europeans to the core,
13:45the EU and the UK are starting to eye each other up.
13:48And an EU-UK summit is set for this May.
13:51Our Jakub Janos takes a look at their relationship status ten years after the Brexit vote.
13:55They say you never forget your ex.
14:01And looking at the recent headlines, it seems the EU and the UK are thinking about getting back together.
14:08Or at least becoming friends with benefits.
14:11But what benefits are we actually talking about?
14:16First, the done deal.
14:18Erasmus is back.
14:19Starting next year, British students can once again study at EU universities and vice versa.
14:27It's a massive U-turn.
14:29The UK government agreed to pay around 650 million euros a year to rejoin.
14:36Second, the stuck deal.
14:38Defence.
14:40The plan was for the UK to join SAFE, the EU's 150 billion euro defence fund.
14:47But talks collapsed over the entry fee.
14:50The Brits found the price too high.
14:53So while Canada, which is an ocean away, successfully joined, the door remains open.
15:00But only if London pays up.
15:02Finally, the forbidden fruit.
15:05A customs union.
15:06And businesses wanted to cut red tape.
15:10And Brussels officially has an open mind about it.
15:13But for the British government, it looks like reversing Brexit.
15:18So despite the economic pressure, the political answer remains a firm no-sir.
15:26So where does that leave us?
15:29We are not seeing a full reunion.
15:32Instead, we are seeing a patchwork relationship.
15:35So they are friendly enough to have a dinner together, but strictly split the bill and no sharing desserts.
15:49Jakob Janis there for us.
15:51And just this week, in fact, the European Parliament's President, Roberta Metzola,
15:55said it's time to overcome historic gripes and reset relations with London.
15:59Now, the Parliament, of course, has no formal say in this,
16:02but her remarks have been gaining attention.
16:04For more, we can bring in your news as correspondent, Shona Murray,
16:07who's actually followed the Brexit negotiations for years, Shona.
16:11So tell us, is the EU trying to bring the UK back into its fold?
16:14Yeah, I was going to say it's back, but actually it's never went away really, Maeve.
16:17Look, the mute music is very good.
16:19The relationship is the best it's been in the last 10 years.
16:21It's 10 years since Brexit.
16:23But I think objectively we can say that Brexit has not been good for the UK.
16:26It hasn't been good for the EU either.
16:28But in particular, the Brexiteers said that the advantage of Brexit would be that the UK could do this big trade deal with the United States.
16:34We know that probably won't materialise now.
16:36I think the British are really seeing what happened in Greenland.
16:39And we can see that the EU and the UK are moving in the same waters when it comes to new trade partners.
16:44Mercosur, India, Ursula von der Leyen might be going to Australia at the end of the month to resuscitate the Australian trade agreement.
16:50So we can see that they're sort of moving in the same direction.
16:53And we saw those overtures this week by, first of all, Pedro Sánchez, the Prime Minister of Spain, saying he misses the UK.
16:59That's a big deal because they had a huge confrontational relationship over Gibraltar.
17:03And then Roberta Mazzola, as you mentioned there, President of the European Parliament.
17:07Let's hear what she had to say.
17:09Europe and the UK need a new way of working together on trade, customs, research, mobility and on security and defence.
17:18And this is about looking forward and doing what makes sense for Europe and for the UK today.
17:26It is time to exorcise the ghosts of the past, reset our partnership and find solutions together.
17:35The ghosts of the past.
17:36Yes, no drama.
17:37Many years reporting about Shona Murray.
17:39And what should we look out for?
17:40Will there be any significant developments in the next couple of months?
17:42Yeah, I think we also have to limit our expectations here because for domestic purposes, it's very difficult Brexit.
17:47And as we heard from Jakob there, the Keir Starmer doesn't want to seem to be reversing Brexit.
17:51So what we will see is probably a phytosanitary deal, remember those terms, where the UK agricultural industry, fisheries can export into the EU without regulatory checks, but they have to abide by EU's regulatory system.
18:03So that is a little bit controversial.
18:05We saw that the UK failed to access the EU's safe defence instrument.
18:08That was because the cost was too high, but the door remains open there.
18:11Where there is a discussion at the moment as to whether the UK defence industry can make a contribution and join the EU's 90 billion euro loan for Ukraine.
18:19So that could be part of a new sort of relationship.
18:22So there are overtures being made.
18:23There are better relationships, but I think it is quite limited now.
18:27Single market customs union re-engagement is really off the table for Keir Starmer.
18:32As much as many businesses would like to see it happen again.
18:35Maeve?
18:35But what is, of course, on the table is that EU-UK summit that will be taking place on May.
18:38That's right.
18:39Probably sometime in May.
18:40I mean, it was May last year, so they haven't confirmed the exact date, but it'll definitely be within the year.
18:44We'll keep a very close eye on that.
18:45And Shona Murray, you'll report on it for us.
18:47Thank you so much for that update here.
18:50But that does bring this edition of Europe Today to a close.
18:53For more news and analysis, do visit eurienews.com.
18:56You can also download our app, so you can stay up to speed or follow us on any of our social media platforms.
19:02We love hearing from you, so do always reach out.
19:05Thank you so much again for tuning in.
19:07We'll be back tomorrow morning, bright and early, with more news and context, so don't miss that.
19:12See you soon, though, on your own news.
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