President Donald Trump's advisers held talks on Wednesday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and national security advisers from the UK, France and Germany to discuss the next steps in ending Russia's war in Ukraine, US special envoy Steve Witkoff said.
"We focused on how to move the discussions forward in a practical way on behalf of @POTUS' peace process, including strengthening security guarantees and developing effective deconfliction mechanisms to help end the war and ensure it does not restart," Witkoff said in a social media post.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and Ukraine's top negotiator Rustem Umerov also participated.
Zelenskyy said on Tuesday that national security advisers from Kyiv's "Coalition of the Willing" backers would meet in Ukraine on Saturday, and then country leaders would gather in France on January 6.
The Coalition grouping led by Britain and France includes more than 30 nations, though it was not immediately clear which would be taking part in the meetings.
The US State Department said on Friday it has approved a sale worth $151.8 million to Israel for munitions and munitions support, without submitting it for congressional review.
Flash floods across Nairobi overnight has left at least 23 people dead, authorities said, adding that dozens of cars were swept away and flights at East Africa's biggest airport disrupted.
Russia launched a barrage of drones and missiles at Ukraine overnight on Saturday, damaging infrastructure and killing at least 10 people in the northeast city of Kharkiv, Ukrainian officials said.
The Ministry of Defence said UAE air defences intercepted 15 of the 16 ballistic missiles detected in the region on Saturday, with one falling into the sea.
UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has discussed the implications of the escalating military actions in the region for international security and stability during calls with leaders of Singapore and Nepal.
Dubai carrier flydubai said operations in and out of Dubai has resumed on Saturday after a brief suspension with passengers “requested not to travel to the airport unless they have a booking confirmation”.