Ukraine, Russia and U.S. Hold First Public Three-Way Peace Talks in Abu Dhabi Amid Intensifying Strikes

Russian missiles and drones slammed into Ukrainian cities as negotiators from Ukraine, Russia and the United States met under chandeliers in Abu Dhabi last week, opening the first publicly acknowledged three-way talks on ending the nearly four-year war.

First structured three-way format since the full-scale invasion

The two-day meeting in the United Arab Emirates capital on Jan. 23 and 24 brought senior officials from all three governments to the same table in a structured format for the first time since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. Hosted by the UAE at the Al Shati Palace and other venues, the talks produced no breakthrough but were described by all sides as constructive and productive, with a follow-up round tentatively set for Feb. 1, again in Abu Dhabi.

Officials and public statements indicate the discussions focused on territory in eastern Ukraine, possible cease-fire arrangements, and future security guarantees for Kyiv under a U.S.-driven peace framework. The talks unfolded as Russia launched one of its heaviest recent missile and drone barrages, which Ukrainian authorities said killed at least one person, injured dozens, and cut power to as many as 1.2 million people in subfreezing temperatures.

Leaders cite progress, but Donbas remains central

“The meetings in Abu Dhabi were constructive,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a statement after the talks. He said the delegations discussed “parameters for ending the war, as well as the security conditions required to achieve this,” and agreed to continue negotiations soon. In separate remarks, he called the process “a step forward” while stressing that “the issue of the Donbas is key.”

The UAE, a close U.S. security partner that has deepened economic ties with Moscow since 2022, positioned itself as host and facilitator. UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan received the heads of the delegations at Al Shati Palace, the presidential residence in Abu Dhabi, and expressed hope that the meetings would yield “tangible progress toward de-escalation,” according to an official statement.

Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE’s minister of foreign affairs, said the talks aimed to take concrete steps toward ending “a crisis that has persisted for nearly four years and caused immense humanitarian suffering.” He said hosting the delegations reflected “the international community’s confidence” in the UAE’s role, and he praised U.S. President Donald Trump’s efforts in enabling the talks.

Who attended

The Ukrainian delegation was led by Rustem Umerov, secretary of the National Security and Defense Council and a former defense minister who has been involved in previous negotiations on grain exports and prisoner exchanges. Kyrylo Budanov, a longtime intelligence official now serving as director of the Office of the President, also took part, underscoring the central role of Ukraine’s security establishment in the talks.

On the Russian side, the delegation was headed by Igor Kostyukov, chief of Russia’s military intelligence agency, known as the GRU. A U.S. official said four Russian generals were present at one of the working sessions.

“The entire group had lunch together. We had four Russian generals in the room, including the head of military intelligence,” the U.S. official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door meetings. “The mood in the room surpassed our expectations.”

The United States has been described by participants as the initiator and main architect of the peace framework on the table. The U.S. delegation in Abu Dhabi was led by special envoy Steve Witkoff. Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and former White House adviser, met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow shortly before the talks, according to officials in both countries, to help pave the way.

Territory, cease-fire parameters and security guarantees

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said efforts to resolve the conflict were “moving forward” and repeatedly highlighted what he called the “Anchorage formula” as central to any settlement. The term refers to understandings Russian and U.S. officials say were reached at an earlier meeting between Trump and Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, in 2025.

Implementation of that formula, Peskov said, requires Ukrainian forces to withdraw from all of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in eastern Ukraine, collectively known as the Donbas. Russia currently controls most, but not all, of those areas and has declared them part of the Russian Federation in annexation moves rejected by Kyiv and most Western governments.

“Withdrawal from the Donbas is a key condition,” Peskov said in comments before and during the Abu Dhabi round.

Zelenskyy has long said Ukraine’s goal is the restoration of its 1991 borders, including the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014. In recent weeks, however, he has signaled some tactical flexibility in public statements, referring to ideas such as demilitarized zones or special economic arrangements in parts of Donbas, while insisting that Russia must also “make serious compromises.”

Officials familiar with the Abu Dhabi talks said no detailed territorial maps were finalized. Instead, negotiators focused on principles and scenarios, including whether a line of contact could be formalized in Donbas under international monitoring, and what political status any contested districts might receive in a settlement.

Alongside territory, the delegations discussed possible cease-fire terms and military arrangements along the front line, according to statements from participants. Those included options for halting offensive operations, creating buffer zones for heavy weapons, and establishing mechanisms to monitor compliance. No formal cease-fire was agreed.

Security guarantees for Ukraine after the fighting stops were another central issue. Zelenskyy has said a bilateral security agreement with the United States is essentially ready for signature and would be a necessary counterpart to any peace deal. Trump has stated publicly that the United States will help defend Ukraine from future attacks, emphasizing air power and technology, but has ruled out deploying U.S. ground troops.

Russia, in turn, has signaled it wants limits on future Western military infrastructure in Ukraine, including restrictions on certain types of weapons systems and foreign bases, as part of any wider arrangement.

Technical and humanitarian issues, including the safety of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine, were also raised, according to one account of the talks. However, no side announced any specific agreement on the plant, and most official readouts have focused instead on territory, cease-fire parameters, and security guarantees.

UAE’s growing role and Europe’s absence

For the UAE, the meetings marked a significant expansion of a diplomatic role it has cultivated since the war began. Emirati officials say the country has mediated 17 separate prisoner exchange operations between Russia and Ukraine, helping secure the release of more than 4,600 detainees. Abu Dhabi has also served as a venue for quiet contacts between Russian and Western officials on energy and finance.

Dr. Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, said the country’s efforts in seeking a political settlement to the war enjoy “clear international appreciation.”

The location and format of the talks have drawn attention in European capitals, which were not directly represented despite the conflict’s central place in Europe’s security order. Prior negotiations in 2022 took place in Belarus and Turkey, and earlier diplomacy on the conflict in eastern Ukraine was led by France and Germany in the so-called Normandy format. By contrast, the Abu Dhabi meetings placed a Gulf state and the United States at the center of efforts to shape an eventual settlement.

Attacks continue as talks proceed

The second day of talks unfolded against a backdrop of intense violence inside Ukraine. Ukrainian officials said Russia launched hundreds of missiles and drones on Jan. 24 at targets including Kyiv, Kharkiv, and critical energy facilities. Ukrainian air defenses intercepted many, but strikes on power infrastructure left large parts of the country without electricity and heating in temperatures as low as minus 13 Celsius (9 Fahrenheit), according to regional authorities.

Zelenskyy and other Ukrainian officials accused Moscow of attempting to exert pressure on the negotiations through the attacks, describing them as a form of “psychological warfare” against the population. Russia did not link the strikes to the talks, and its forces have frequently conducted large-scale attacks throughout the war.

Despite the bombardment, the delegations completed their scheduled sessions in Abu Dhabi. Emirati officials and a U.S. official said the three sides agreed in principle to reconvene around Feb. 1 to address what they called “outstanding elements” of the peace framework and to work on confidence-building measures.

Uncertain path ahead

Whether the process yields a comprehensive peace, a partial cease-fire, or another dead end remains uncertain. The stakes are high for all three governments: for Ukraine, the survival and shape of the state; for Russia, the ability to claim strategic gains and obtain relief from sanctions; and for the United States, the chance to wind down a costly conflict without abandoning its commitments to European security.

For now, the war continues as diplomats prepare to return to Abu Dhabi’s conference rooms. Any eventual agreement, negotiators acknowledge, will have to bridge not only deep strategic divides but also the gap between what can be signed under palace ceilings in the Gulf and what societies battered by nearly four years of war are willing to accept.