Russia and Ukraine open first peace talks in nine months in Abu Dhabi as U.S. envoy says gaps have narrowed
File photo: U.S. officials meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during earlier peace talks (U.S. State Department)Three-way talks between Russia, Ukraine and the United States opened Tuesday in Abu Dhabi, the first such meeting since February, in a renewed U.S.-led push to end the war that followed Russia's full-scale invasion of its neighbor nearly five years ago. U.S. envoy Jared Kushner told delegates at the opening session that he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin is prepared to reach a peace agreement under the right conditions, saying recent contacts with both sides had narrowed key differences.
The two-day session in the capital of the United Arab Emirates will focus on security guarantees for Ukraine, the White House said before the discussions, along with territorial disputes and the broader European security framework. "We have moved to a trilateral negotiation format involving Ukraine, the United States and Russia," Rustem Umerov, the head of Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service who leads Kyiv's delegation, said on social media after the opening meetings. The Russian delegation is led by Vladimir Medinsky, a Putin aide who has headed Moscow's team since the first direct peace talks in Istanbul in March 2022.
Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law, is mediating alongside U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff. He told negotiators that Washington had held extensive discussions with Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy over the past two months, and that there were "some good ideas how to bridge" the differences between the two sides. "From what Steve and I have heard from him, we can say very strongly we believe so, under the right conditions," Kushner said of Putin's readiness for a deal. Umerov said Kyiv had received a mandate from Zelenskyy to address the issues necessary to end the war, and that Ukraine was focused on achieving security guarantees and a lasting peace.
The day began with a coordination meeting between the Ukrainian team, the two American envoys and representatives from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, NATO and the European Commission, before the trilateral session got underway. Observers cautioned that no breakthrough is expected from this round, and previous U.S.-mediated negotiations have not produced one. Trump suggested last week that a broad deal was possible on ending the war and guaranteeing security in Europe.
The talks opened against a grim backdrop at home. Russian missile and drone strikes on Ukraine's energy network over the weekend left about 850,000 people without electricity in the Dnipropetrovsk and Kharkiv regions as winter temperatures fall toward freezing, according to power company DTEK and local officials. More than 600,000 residents of Dnipropetrovsk lost power after overnight strikes damaged key energy facilities, and nearly 250,000 customers in Kharkiv were cut off after a drone hit critical infrastructure. Europe's largest nuclear plant, Zaporizhzhia, lost its last external power line for the 27th time in the conflict and spent roughly 15 hours running on emergency diesel generators before the line was reconnected Sunday, the International Atomic Energy Agency said. Russian forces struck 10 Ukrainian regions overnight as the talks opened, targeting five major electrical substations and killing two people, officials said Tuesday.
Sources: The Associated Press, "US-mediated talks on ending war between Russia, Ukraine begin in Abu Dhabi" (Nov. 10, 2026); Reuters, "Russia and Ukraine hold first peace talks in nine months, Trump envoy says gaps have narrowed" (Nov. 10, 2026); DPA, "Kushner, Witkoff mediate Ukraine-Russia talks in Abu Dhabi" (Nov. 10, 2026); RFE/RL, "Russian strikes leave over 600,000 without power" (Nov. 8, 2026).
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