What happened
Three-way talks between Russia, Ukraine and the United States opened Tuesday in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. The two-day session is the first meeting of its kind since February and is focused on security guarantees and ways to end the war, according to the White House.
U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are leading the American delegation. Russia’s team is headed by Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to President Vladimir Putin, while Ukraine’s delegation is led by Rustem Umerov, head of Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service.
Before the three-way talks, Ukrainian officials met with U.S. envoys and representatives from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, NATO and the European Commission. Kushner said on social media that the goal is a negotiated solution delivering lasting peace and a sovereign, secure Ukraine within a more stable European security environment.
The two governments remain far apart on core issues. Russia wants Ukraine to withdraw troops from Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, abandon NATO membership, accept military limits and drop restrictions on the Russian language and the Moscow-affiliated Orthodox Church. Ukraine rejects ceding territory or accepting limits on its military and Western partnerships, and says an immediate ceasefire is the necessary first step.
Fighting continued alongside the diplomacy. Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 162 drones and a ballistic missile overnight, while Russia’s Ministry of Defense said it shot down 155 Ukrainian drones over eight Russian regions and the Crimean Peninsula. Analysts and humanitarian organizations say the war has killed hundreds of thousands of soldiers and thousands of civilians, with no sign the fighting is abating.
