Russia, Ukraine, and U.S. Resume War Talks in Abu Dhabi

Negotiations between Russia, Ukraine, and the United States opened Tuesday in Abu Dhabi, marking the first three-way session since February. The two-day meeting aims to resolve the conflict that has persisted since Moscow’s invasion began nearly five years ago. Washington is using this forum to push for a negotiated end to the war, which has resulted in hundreds of thousands of military deaths and thousands of civilian casualties, according to humanitarian organizations and analysts.

The discussions are focused on security guarantees, a priority for both sides. Russia views the North Atlantic Treaty Organization as a primary threat, while Ukraine seeks mechanisms to prevent future invasions. Progress remains cautious after three earlier rounds of talks this year failed to produce major breakthroughs. The meeting takes place while the front line remains largely deadlocked and new long-range strikes continue to be exchanged between the two armies.

Jared Kushner, son-in-law to U.S. President Donald Trump, stated on X that he and envoy Steve Witkoff are working toward a negotiated solution. He described the goal as delivering lasting peace and creating conditions for a sovereign, secure, and prosperous Ukraine within a more stable European security environment. Before the main three-way talks, Kushner and Witkoff held separate consultations with envoys from Ukraine, the European Union, NATO, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and Italy to coordinate on postwar security arrangements.

Vladimir Medinsky, who heads the Russian delegation, noted that his team had become larger and more professional. He expressed hope that the meeting would advance the path toward peace for the people of both nations. Medinsky has led Moscow’s negotiating team since the initial direct talks in Istanbul in March 2022. The Russian delegation also includes deputy foreign ministers Sergei Ryabkov and Mikhail Galuzin, military intelligence chief Igor Kostyukov, and deputy chief of the General Staff’s operational department, Yuri Zhigarlovsky.

Rustem Umerov, head of Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service, led Kyiv’s delegation. He reported that the day began with a joint meeting between the Ukrainian team, U.S. envoys, and representatives from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, NATO, and the European Commission. The Ukrainian side also reportedly includes President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, Kyrylo Budanov, his deputy, Sergiy Kyslytsya, and Davyd Arakhamia, the parliamentary faction leader of Zelenskyy’s Servant of the People party.

The two governments remain distant on the terms of any agreement. Russian President Vladimir Putin demands that Ukraine withdraw troops from the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions, which Moscow annexed in September 2022. He also requires Ukraine to abandon its bid to join NATO, accept strict military limits, and remove restrictions on the Russian language and the Moscow-affiliated Orthodox Church. Putin has rejected a general halt in hostilities, arguing it would allow Ukrainian forces to replenish weapons, and has warned that Russia will achieve its goals by force if Kyiv refuses these conditions.

President Zelenskyy, who was visiting Denmark on Tuesday, rejects the idea of voluntarily ceding territory that Russia has not fully captured on the battlefield. He opposes limits on Ukraine’s military or its arrangements with Western partners, which Kyiv considers essential security guarantees. Ukraine maintains that an immediate ceasefire is the necessary first step toward a wider settlement and argues that a direct meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy is the only way to settle territorial disputes.

U.S. President Trump declared last week that a grand deal regarding European security was in the works, describing it as a big agreement involving more than Ukraine. Kushner said the comprehensive settlement would require direct engagement between Russia and European partners on broader security arrangements. The Abu Dhabi talks are intended to set the stage for that engagement as part of a broader multilateral process. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov welcomed the proposal to put collective security on the agenda, noting that Moscow had previously demanded NATO roll back deployments in Central and Eastern Europe before the full-scale invasion began on February 24, 2022.

On the ground, the war has become an attrition conflict along a 1,200-kilometer front line. Russia has intensified its air campaign against Ukraine’s power grid, using ballistic missiles and jet-powered drones to exploit shortages of U.S.-made Patriot interceptors. Ukraine has responded by escalating drone strikes on Russian oil refineries. Ukrainian air forces said Russia launched 162 drones and a ballistic missile overnight. The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that its forces shot down 155 Ukrainian drones above eight Russian regions and the Crimean Peninsula.