162 Drones Strike Ukraine as Peace Talks Open
U.S. envoys led a two-day session in Abu Dhabi Tuesday, marking the first direct trilateral meeting since February.
By Ricardo Alvarez ·
Russia launched 162 drones and one ballistic missile at Ukraine overnight, according to the Ukrainian air force. The strikes occurred just hours before a two-day round of peace talks began in Abu Dhabi. These three-way negotiations between the United States, Russia, and Ukraine represent the first direct meeting of the parties since February.
The White House stated that the discussions will focus on security guarantees. Russia views NATO as a primary threat, while Ukraine seeks to prevent future invasions by Moscow. The session follows three earlier rounds of talks this year that produced no breakthroughs. Analysts and humanitarian organizations estimate the war has killed hundreds of thousands of soldiers and thousands of civilians since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and envoy Steve Witkoff led the American delegation. Kushner wrote on X that the team is working toward a negotiated solution that delivers lasting peace. He described the goal as creating conditions for a sovereign and secure Ukraine within a stable European security environment. Vladimir Medinsky, a Putin aide who has led the Russian team since the initial talks in Istanbul in March 2022, headed the Russian delegation.
Medinsky noted that the Russian group has become larger and more professional. He expressed hope that the meeting would advance the path toward peace in the interests of both nations. Rustem Umerov, head of Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service, led the Ukrainian side. He reported that the day began with a separate meeting between the Ukrainian team, U.S. envoys, and representatives from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, NATO, and the European Commission.
The delegations include other senior officials. The Russian team includes deputy foreign ministers Sergei Ryabkov and Mikhail Galuzin, military intelligence chief Igor Kostyukov, and Yuri Zhigarlovsky, deputy chief of the General Staff’s operational department. The Ukrainian delegation reportedly includes Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, Kyrylo Budanov, his deputy Sergiy Kyslytsya, and Davyd Arakhamia, the parliamentary faction leader of the Servant of the People party.
Trump declared last week that a grand deal regarding European security was in the works. He described it as a big agreement that would involve more than Ukraine. Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister, welcomed the U.S. negotiators for placing collective security at the top of the agenda. He noted that Moscow had demanded NATO roll back its deployments in Central and Eastern Europe before the 2022 invasion. Similar demands are likely to feature in any comprehensive peace proposal from Russia.
Kushner said the Abu Dhabi talks would set the stage for direct engagement between Russia and European partners on broader security arrangements. He stated that this engagement would begin in the near future as part of a multilateral process. Before the trilateral session, Kushner and Witkoff met separately with envoys from Ukraine, the EU, NATO, and several European nations. They aimed to continue the consultation and coordination on European security and Ukraine’s postwar future that they have undertaken over the past several weeks.
The talks proceeded while long-range strikes continued. Russia’s Ministry of Defense said its forces shot down 155 Ukrainian drones overnight above eight Russian regions and the Crimean Peninsula. Ukraine has escalated drone strikes on Russian oil refineries, while Russia has intensified its air campaign against Ukraine’s power grid. Moscow relies on ballistic missiles and jet-powered drones, taking advantage of Ukraine’s shortage of U.S.-made Patriot interceptors. The ground battles have settled into a war of attrition along the 1,200-kilometer front line.
