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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday described recent trilateral talks between the United States, Russia and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi as “constructive,” saying the meetings marked the first format of their kind in some time and focused on potential parameters for ending Moscow’s war.
Zelenskyy said the talks, which were hosted by the United Arab Emirates over two days, involved political and military representatives from all three sides and addressed security-related issues, including the need for American monitoring and oversight.
“A lot was discussed, and it is important that the conversations were constructive,” he wrote on X, noting the delegations could have further meetings as early as next week. “As a result of the meetings held over these days, all sides agreed to report back in their capitals on each aspect of the negotiations and to coordinate further steps with their leaders.”
The Abu Dhabi talks followed a meeting in Moscow on Thursday between Russian President Vladimir Putin, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and Josh Gruenbaum, the head of the Federal Acquisition Service.
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Russia’s President Vladimir Putin meets with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner and Federal Acquisition Service Commissioner Josh Gruenbaum at the Kremlin in Moscow on Jan. 22, 2026. (Alexander Kazakov/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
Putin aide Yuri Ushakov said the “extremely frank” discussions lasted roughly four hours and included U.S. officials updating Moscow on their recent conversations with Ukrainian and European leaders.
“Importantly, the participants in the conversation between the President of Russia and the Americans reaffirmed the fact that bringing about a lasting settlement would be unlikely without addressing the territorial issue based on the formula as agreed in Anchorage,” Ushakov said, according to a summary of the meeting from the Kremlin.
Territorial issues remain a key obstacle in the negotiations, with Moscow pressing Kyiv to relinquish parts of eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region that Russian forces do not fully control.
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Icicles hang from balconies in an apartment block damaged by a drone strike in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Jan. 24, 2026. (Viacheslav Madiievskyi/Ukrinform/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The diplomatic efforts come as Russia continues its strikes across Ukraine, targeting the country’s energy sector, critical infrastructure and residential areas.
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Zelenskyy said on Sunday that Russian forces launched more than 1,700 attack drones, over 1,380 guided aerial bombs and 69 missiles in the past week alone.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrives to meet UK Defense Secretary John Healey at the Presidential Palace in Kyiv on Jan. 9, 2026. (Stefan Rousseau/PA Images via Getty Images)
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The European Commission, the EU’s executive body, said ahead of the trilateral talks that it was deploying 447 emergency generators to help restore power to hospitals, shelters and critical services, as more than one million Ukrainians face outages amid freezing temperatures.
“The EU will not let Russia freeze Ukraine into submission and will continue helping Ukrainians get through this winter,” the commission said.