ABRAnews Open the whole story. Sign in
World · Russia and Ukraine

Trump's envoys arrive in Moscow to meet Putin after Abu Dhabi talks

Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, says the envoys will ask Putin to let Europeans join the talks, while Zelenskyy says Starshield restrictions are helping Russian strikes.

20 news outlets reported this
Liberal9 outletsEnvoys reach Moscow with no breakthrough yetCenter8 outletsEnvoys' Moscow trip and push to include EuropeConservative3 outletsTough Abu Dhabi talks and Russia's rigid stance
ABRAnews EditorialPublished 1 min read
Overview

U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Trump's special envoy and son-in-law, landed in Moscow on Thursday, Nov. 12, for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev greeted them at the airport. They come after two days of U.S.-mediated talks in Abu Dhabi between Russia and Ukraine.

Those ended Wednesday with agreement on another prisoner exchange but no visible breakthrough on ending the war. Kushner said the exchange is the largest of the war to date. After Moscow, the envoys are to go to Dublin to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is attending a European summit there.

Kushner said one aim in Moscow is to ask Putin to let Europeans join the negotiations. Russia has opposed that. Kushner has said territory will be the hardest issue, and Zelenskyy insists Ukraine will not give up occupied land in exchange for peace.

Overnight, Ukraine's air force said Russia launched 123 drones, and Russia's Defense Ministry said it downed 71 Ukrainian drones. Zelenskyy also said restrictions on the Starshield satellite network, run through Elon Musk's SpaceX, have made it harder to intercept Russian jet-powered drones.

Key figures
  • 123 droneslaunched by Russia overnight, by Ukraine's air force countABC News
  • 71 Ukrainian dronesdowned overnight, by Russia's Defense MinistryThe Seattle Times
  • one person was killedafter a drone hit a Kyiv apartment block, per Mayor Klitschko, with seven more hurtABC News
  • 150 additional entities, 50 banksto face new EU sanctions on Monday, per France's Benjamin HaddadAl Jazeera English

Three sides of the story

9Liberal8Center3Conservative

20 news outlets reported this

Tap a color or swipe sideways to switch sides.

Liberal9 outlets

Envoys reach Moscow with no breakthrough yet

ABC News opens with the envoys landing in Moscow after Abu Dhabi talks that "seemingly produced no major diplomatic breakthrough." It quotes Kushner's posts on X, in which he says the US, in coordination with Ukraine and European partners, has "aligned on proposals" for Putin but that "significant differences remain." It then details the overnight strikes, citing Ukraine's air force on 123 drones, Kyiv's mayor on one death and seven injuries, and Zelenskyy on Starshield disruptions.

Al Jazeera English also leads with the arrival, noting Dmitriev met the plane. Its Moscow reporter Yulia Shapovalova says the US team wants Putin to invite Europeans, while Moscow is "adamant" about talks without them. Its Kyiv reporter Audrey Macalpine says Ukrainians do not believe the Moscow talks will yield results and "not much has changed."

Al Jazeera adds that Kyiv rejects Putin's demand for all of Donbas, and cites France's Benjamin Haddad on new EU .

Center8 outlets

Envoys' Moscow trip and push to include Europe

BBC News opens with the arrival, describing Russian media videos of handshakes and hugs with Dmitriev. It quotes Kushner on seeing "some openings and some opportunities" and Russian delegation head Vladimir Medinsky on parties having "moved closer to achieving peace." It notes Russia's opposition to a European seat at the table.

The Seattle Times runs an AP report on the arrival, the prisoner exchange and Zelenskyy's refusal to cede territory. It quotes Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Europe and reports that a Russian serviceman died in a car explosion in St. Petersburg. Deutsche Welle runs a live roundup, quoting Kushner on the "biggest humanitarian release of prisoners" and Zelenskyy on Starshield.

It adds leaked figures on Russian war deaths that it says have not been independently verified. BBC and DW also note that Musk denied throttling Ukraine's access.

Conservative3 outlets

Tough Abu Dhabi talks and Russia's rigid stance

The New York Post leads with the Abu Dhabi talks as "one of the toughest" rounds. It quotes Kushner calling the discussions "pretty tough" and "very thorough." One breakthrough, it says, was a proposal for one of the largest prisoner releases, with the figure to be set in Moscow.

It quotes Ukrainian negotiator Davyd Arakhamia saying the Russians arrived with "very, very strict directives." Kushner says bringing Europeans in is the only way to get this done and that he thinks Russia is "receptive to it." The Post explains the fight over Donetsk, noting Russia is estimated to hold about 80% to 85% of it, and says Ukrainian officials fear giving up the fortress belt.

It describes Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure before winter, and quotes Arakhamia on Ukraine's vulnerability from the lack of interceptors.

What a side did not mention
  • Conservative outlets did not mentionZelenskyy's statement that Starshield satellite internet to Ukraine is being restricted Reported by ABC News, BBC News, Deutsche Welle
Where outlets disagree
All sources: 39 articles from 20 outlets

Liberal (17)

Center (16)

Conservative (6)

Russia and Ukraine
  1. G7 foreign ministers meet in Paris as Rubio faces questions on Ukraine and Iran
  2. US, Russia and Ukraine open two days of peace talks in Abu Dhabi
  3. Trump's envoys arrive in Moscow to meet Putin after Abu Dhabi talksThis story
  4. Zelensky says Ukraine's military satellite service is throttled again, SpaceX denies it
  5. Zelensky says biggest prisoner swap with Russia is agreed after meeting US envoys
All stories on this topic
Sanctions

Penalties one country imposes on another, or on companies and people: freezing assets, banning trade, cutting off banks. The aim is to change behaviour without war.

All terms →