Ukrainian and Russian negotiators concluded the first day of a new round of talks on Wednesday in Abu Dhabi, mediated by the United States, as efforts continue to end Europe’s largest conflict since World War II while fighting persists on the ground.
A source told Reuters that the talks ended for the day and will resume on Thursday.
Photos released by the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Foreign Affairs showed the three delegations seated around a U-shaped table, with U.S. officials in the center, including Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
Ahead of the talks, Ukraine’s chief negotiator Rustem Umerov said the teams would first meet in separate groups to discuss specific issues, before holding a joint session to coordinate positions.
Shortly after the talks began, Russian forces struck a busy market in eastern Ukraine with cluster munitions, killing at least seven people and injuring 15, according to Donetsk regional governor Vadym Filashkin.
Among the most sensitive issues are Moscow’s demands that Kyiv give up territory it still controls, and the future of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe’s largest, located in Russian-occupied territory.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia would continue fighting in Ukraine until Kyiv makes “decisions” that could bring the war to an end.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on Tuesday that Russia is not winning its war against Ukraine, arguing that Moscow is paying a heavy price in battlefield losses and economic damage for limited territorial gains.
Russia wants Ukraine to withdraw its troops from the entire Donetsk region, including a heavily fortified belt of cities regarded as one of Ukraine’s strongest defensive lines, as a condition for any agreement. Ukraine has said the conflict should be frozen along the current front line and has rejected any unilateral withdrawal of its forces.
Ukrainians Oppose Painful Concessions
Opinion polls show that most Ukrainians oppose any deal that would hand more territory to Moscow. Residents of Kyiv told Reuters on Wednesday they were skeptical that the new round of talks would bring major breakthroughs.
The first round of talks took place in the United Arab Emirates last month, marking the first direct public negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv in years.
Source: ANA-MPA, Translated by: Konstantinos Menyktas
