Abu Dhabi to host Russia and Ukraine talks as Zelenskyy points to battlefield gains
US-mediated negotiations will focus on security guarantees as Ukraine cites military gains and Washington reports possible flexibility over territory.
By Hiroshi Ferrari ·
Russian and Ukrainian negotiators are scheduled to meet in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday for US-brokered peace talks, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy argues that recent battlefield gains have improved Kyiv’s negotiating position. The meeting will be the third round held in the United Arab Emirates capital this year, following security consultations in January and February. The three delegations last met in Geneva on February 18.
In his Monday evening video address, Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces were strengthening the country’s position at the negotiating table. He cited a report from General Mykhailo Drapatyi on military positions and heavy recent Russian losses. Moscow disputes Zelenskyy’s claim that its losses have reached record levels. The Ukrainian president also said long-range attacks inside Russia, including strikes on oil facilities, were having an effect, and called on Washington to persuade the Kremlin to end the war.
US President Donald Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are leading Washington’s delegation and mediation effort. Speaking to reporters in Washington, Trump said he believed both sides wanted the conflict to end and were weary of fighting. He described the discussions in Abu Dhabi positively. Trump had pledged a rapid end to the war when he entered office in January 2025, but an agreement remains out of reach following Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
A US official, speaking anonymously to reporters on Monday, said Russia and Ukraine had each privately indicated some willingness to consider a possible territorial exchange. The official said security guarantees for Ukraine would be a major subject of discussion, including a potential defence commitment based on Article 5 of NATO’s founding treaty. Any agreement on territory would probably come near the end of negotiations, after other matters, including arrangements for post-war security, had been resolved.
Publicly, the two countries have maintained firm territorial demands. Ukraine seeks Russia’s withdrawal to the original border between them, while Russian President Vladimir Putin wants control of the entire Donbas region. Russia occupies about 20 percent of Ukrainian territory, including Crimea and sections of the eastern Donbas. That territorial takeover has not received international recognition. Trump has previously pressed Kyiv to surrender territory as part of a peace agreement.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio offered a more cautious assessment of the diplomatic effort, saying considerable work remained before the war could be ended. He said Washington would continue trying to develop approaches that could help bring the conflict to a close.
According to The Kyiv Independent, Ukraine’s delegation will again be led by Rustem Umerov, head of the country’s Foreign Intelligence Service. Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky will head the Russian delegation, joined by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov and senior military officer Yuri Zhigarlovsky.
France, Germany and the European Commission are among the European powers sending officials to Abu Dhabi. However, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Europeans would not participate in the negotiations because the agreed format involved Russia, Ukraine and US mediation. He said security guarantees would be the focus and pointed to the separate channels Washington and Kyiv maintain with European officials.
