Ukraine peace talks resume in Abu Dhabi day after Russia's largest strike this winter
Editor's note: This is a developing story and is being updated.
The second round of trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi among Russia, Ukraine, and the United States to end Moscow's war began on Feb. 4, Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov said.
Officials have convened in the United Arab Emirates for two days of talks, only a day after Russia launched its most massive strike against Ukraine this winter, as Moscow resumes its campaign aimed at knocking out the country's power grid.
While the discussion was expected to focus on the two most thorny unresolved issues — the status of the Donbas region and post-war security guarantees for Ukraine — the re-escalation of Russian strikes led many to question the Kremlin's seriousness about peace talks.
President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of violating the one-week energy truce, which he said took effect on Jan. 30, by launching 71 missiles and 450 drones against Ukraine overnight on Feb. 3.
The weeks-long campaign of attacks has severely damaged Ukraine's energy infrastructure, leaving many in Kyiv and other cities without light or heat amid freezing temperatures and increasing pressure on the war-torn country amid peace talks.
According to Zelensky, Ukrainian delegates will adjust their negotiating position in response to the ongoing strikes.
U.S. President Donald Trump, whose one-year push to broker an end to the war has so far failed to produce a peace deal, rejected that Russian President Vladimir Putin violated the truce, saying it was set to last only until Feb. 1.
The U.S. side is represented by Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's advisor and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who participated in the previous round of talks in Abu Dhabi on Jan. 23-24.
The Ukrainian delegation is led by Umerov, the secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, and Kyrylo Budanov, a former spy chief who now serves as Zelensky's chief of staff.
After the trilateral talks, separate groups will continue discussions on separate topics, Umerov said, adding that heads of state will be regularly informed of progress.
The Kremlin does not plan to publicly comment on the outcome of the initial round of talks on Feb. 4, according to spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.
Peskov also said that the "door to a peaceful settlement remains open," but Russia will continue the war until Ukraine adopts the "relevant decisions."
Zelensky said earlier that the discussions with Western capitals on security guarantees have concluded. Kyiv and its partners have reportedly agreed on a multi-tiered response plan that would involve a European-led, U.S.-backed military intervention in case of repeated ceasefire violations by Russia.
The Coalition of the Willing, a group of countries led by France and the U.K., has agreed to deploy its troops in Ukraine after the ceasefire to help secure the land, air, and sea. Moscow, in turn, has repeatedly rejected the post-war presence of Western troops as part of a potential agreement.
Another sticking point is the fate of the partially occupied Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, as the Kremlin demands that Ukraine withdraw from these regions completely — a condition Kyiv has rejected.
The upcoming round of negotiations was initially set to begin on Feb. 1, but was postponed as the Trump administration shifts attention to renewed tensions with Iran. Kushner and Witkoff are expected to travel to Istanbul after Abu Dhabi talks to negotiate a potential nuclear deal with Iranian officials.
