Ukraine and Russia hold second day of US-mediated peace talks

Yesterday 11:50

By: Dakir Madiha

Ukraine and Russia hold second day of US-mediated peace talks

Ukrainian and Russian negotiators resumed trilateral peace talks under American mediation in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, entering the second round of direct discussions aimed at ending the nearly four-year conflict. Both sides offered cautiously optimistic assessments after the initial session, with Ukraine's top negotiator Rustem Umerov describing it as "substantive and productive, focused on concrete measures and practical solutions."

The two-day meeting, continuing Thursday, brings together delegations led by Umerov, secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, and Admiral Igor Kostioukov, head of Russia's GRU military intelligence. U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are facilitating the process.

Russia's Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, noted Thursday that talks showed "progress" and "positive forward movement," while criticizing what he called interference from "European warmongers." Discussions covered economic issues, ceasefire mechanisms, and the thorny matter of territorial control in eastern Ukraine.

President Volodymyr Zelensky indicated expectations for a prisoner swap with Russia "in the near future" stemming from these negotiations, building on sporadic exchanges since 2022. Deep divisions linger, however. Moscow demands Kyiv withdraw forces from all of Donetsk region, including heavily fortified cities seen as Ukraine's strongest defensive positions. Ukraine firmly rejects ceding any territory beyond current front lines. The status of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe's largest and under Russian control, remains unresolved.

Talks unfold amid ongoing Russian strikes on Ukraine. Just days before, Russia unleashed what DTEK, Ukraine's largest private energy firm, called the "most powerful strike" this year on energy infrastructure, firing about 70 missiles and 450 drones at heating facilities in Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Dnipro. The assaults left over 1,000 residential buildings in Kyiv without heat as temperatures plunged below minus 20 degrees Celsius. Zelensky accused Russia of choosing "terror and escalation" over diplomacy, exploiting winter's coldest days to terrorize civilians.

The Kremlin warned it will not halt fighting until Kyiv makes what Moscow deems the "right decisions" to end the war, holding firm even as talks proceed. Russia's Defense Ministry framed the strikes as retaliation for alleged Ukrainian attacks on Russian civilian sites. These negotiations follow the first trilateral round on January 23-24 in Abu Dhabi, which U.S. officials said narrowed gaps on territorial issues. Whether diplomacy can bridge the vast chasm between Russian demands and Ukrainian red lines stays uncertain as the war nears its fourth anniversary later this month.