Ukrainian and Russian negotiators started their second United States-brokered negotiation session in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday to resolve their deadlock which has persisted since Russia began its extensive invasion of Ukraine four years ago.
Delegations from both sides arrived in the UAE capital early Wednesday, per Russian state media and a Ukrainian spokesperson. The US team’s arrival timing remained unclear. “Another round of negotiations has begun in Abu Dhabi,” Ukrainian delegation head Rustem Umerov posted on social media, stressing Kyiv’s push for “a just and lasting peace.”
The two-day trilateral talks at Al Shati Palace follow last month, which hosted their first public direct negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv based on a Trump administration plan.
Recent Tensions Cloud Progress
The session occurs during ongoing accusations from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who claims that Russia broke a US-brokered truce concerning energy infrastructure attacks. Russian forces launched a major drone and missile attack before the diplomatic negotiations, which destroyed Ukraine’s power system and forced residents to endure freezing temperatures without heating.
“Each such Russian strike confirms that attitudes in Moscow have not changed. They continue to bet on war,” Zelenskyy said Tuesday. He assured that he would modify Kyiv’s negotiation approach based on his future determination of the situation.
Al Jazeera reporter Audrey MacAlpine from Kyiv reported that Ukrainians show “cautious optimism” for a temporary energy strike suspension, while first round results show “very little progress” which hampers their chances of achieving a breakthrough.
Key Sticking Points
Eastern Territories: Russia controls approximately 20 percent of Ukraine, which includes segments of Donbas, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhia and smaller territories. Moscow demands Ukrainian troop withdrawals from resource-rich areas, international recognition of its annexations, and control over the rest of Donetsk if talks fail.
Security Guarantees: Kyiv wants to maintain existing border lines, which stop all Ukrainian troop movements, and insists on receiving absolute protection against any future military threats.
Public Mood: Ukrainians demonstrate strong resistance against peace agreements which require territorial concessions.
Russia maintains control over one-fifth of mineral-rich Donetsk while Kyiv still possesses the remaining territory. Russia, which Igor Kostyukov leads as its military intelligence head, has gained ground in combat although the process costs them considerable resources because they believe they can outlast Kyiv’s military.
Broader Context
The Trump administration has pressed compromises as the invasion’s fourth anniversary nears. Recent US-Russia talks in Florida, led by envoy Steve Witkoff, were deemed “productive and constructive.” Zelenskyy asks Western nations for additional military resources, sanctions, and diplomatic pressure against the Kremlin.
