Ukrainian and Russian delegations began a second round of US-brokered peace talks in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, resuming efforts to end the war nearly four years after Moscow's full-scale invasion. The discussions are taking place in a trilateral format involving Ukraine, the United States and Russia, with working groups set to address specific issues before a joint session to align positions.
The talks come amid renewed battlefield tensions, with Kyiv accusing Russia of exploiting a recent US-backed energy truce to prepare intensified missile strikes. At the negotiating table, deep divisions persist over territory and the future of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Moscow is pressing Ukraine to withdraw from the entire eastern Donetsk region, while Kyiv insists any settlement must freeze the conflict along current front lines and rejects unilateral concessions.
Russia currently occupies around 20% of Ukraine's territory, including Crimea and parts of the Donbas, and has made incremental gains over the past year. Public sentiment in Ukraine remains firmly opposed to ceding land, with many expressing scepticism that the Abu Dhabi talks will deliver a breakthrough. The first round of negotiations, held last month, marked the first direct public engagement between the two sides since the war began...