US, Russia and Ukraine open two days of peace talks in Abu Dhabi

Delegations from the United States, Russia and Ukraine opened two days of talks in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Tuesday, Nov. 10. It is the first such meeting since February. US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are mediating.

Rustem Umerov, head of Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service, leads Kyiv's team, and Putin aide Vladimir Medinsky leads Russia's. Before the session, the US envoys met representatives of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, NATO and the European Commission. The White House said the talks will focus on security guarantees.

A US official said that in private, Moscow and Kyiv have shown "a little bit of flexibility" on territory, though Russia publicly demands all of Donetsk while Ukraine wants the current line frozen. The official said the Donetsk and territorial questions will not be solved until the postwar security setup is clear. Putin wants Ukraine to pull back from four regions and drop its NATO bid, and he rejects a general halt in fighting.

Zelenskyy rejects voluntarily ceding territory Russia has not taken on the battlefield. Overnight, Ukraine's air force said Russia launched 162 drones and a ballistic missile, while Russia said it shot down 155 Ukrainian drones. Ukraine's prime minister said Russian strikes hit five major energy substations.