Ukraine Says Abu Dhabi Talks With Russia and US Were ‘Substantive and Productive’

Rustem Umerov, one of Ukraine’s leading negotiators, said that the first day of trilateral meetings between Ukraine, Russia and the US in Abu Dhabi was “substantive and productive.”

This marks the second round of negotiations between the three countries hosted by the United Arab Emirates in a fortnight. Originally scheduled for Feb. 1, today’s meetings were originally postponed due to rising tensions between the US and Iran.

In a post on X, Umerov said that he and his fellow negotiators were preparing a report on the day’s talks for President Volodymyr Zelensky.

“The work was substantive and productive, focused on concrete steps and practical solutions,” he said.

Umerov, who is secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, said that the Ukrainian delegation also includes Zelensky’s chief of staff Kyrylo Budanov, lawmaker Davyd Arakhamia, diplomat Serhii Kyslytsia, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Andrii Hnatov, Deputy Chief of Ukrainian Defense Intelligence Vadym Skibitskyi, and presidential advisor Oleksandr Bevz.

Washington was represented by US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner, despite US Secretary of State Marco Rubio previously suggesting that Witkoff would not attend. US Secretary of the Army Daniel Driscoll and General Alex Grynkewich were also present, Umerov said.

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However, he did not provide any details about the Russian delegation – adding only that “the Russian side was represented at a high military level.”

Umerov appears more positive about the progress of negotiations than Zelensky, who on Tuesday accused Moscow of using a supposed energy truce brokered by the US as a tactical pause to stockpile missiles for a large-scale attack on Ukraine.

A massive missile and drone attack on Kyiv, Kharkiv and Dnipro left thousands without light or heat in subzero temperatures overnight on Tuesday.

Previously, Trump claimed to have secured Russian President Vladimir Putin’s promise not to target Kyiv or energy infrastructure in other major cities for the period of one week. But Trump’s spokesperson said that he was “unsurprised” by Russia’s resumption of strikes after only a few days.

Zelensky – who had on Monday praised the US de-escalation measures for “helping to build public trust in the negotiation process” – reacted to these fresh attacks on Ukrainian cities by calling for action to be taken against the Kremlin.

“We believe this Russian strike clearly violates what the American side discussed, and there must be consequences,” he said on Tuesday.

Discussions between Ukraine, Russia, and the US in Abu Dhabi will resume on Thursday. Also on Wednesday, Moscow once again said that it will continue its war in Ukraine unless Kyiv makes concessions it has already rejected.