Photo: Aravind Sivaraj, via Wikimedia Commons (freely licensed). File photo of Abu Dhabi, not a photo of the talks.
The United States will bring together delegations from Ukraine and Russia in Abu Dhabi on November 10 and 11 for a new round of talks aimed at ending Moscow's war against Ukraine, US envoy Steve Witkoff announced on Monday. It is the first US-mediated round since February, and it comes as Washington pushes for a breakthrough before winter sets in.
Witkoff, President Donald Trump's special envoy, said in a social media post that the discussions would cover "post-war security agreements, de-escalation, humanitarian measures, and ending the war." A senior US official told Reuters that Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and a lead negotiator, are expected to represent the United States in Abu Dhabi.
How the talks came about
Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to the new round of three-way talks after meeting Witkoff in St. Petersburg two weeks ago, according to Reuters. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has also expressed willingness to negotiate after meeting Witkoff in Oslo in October, the Kyiv Independent reported.
The last US-mediated talks took place in February, before the United States and Israel launched their war against Iran. Since then, the fighting has continued with no sign of a military resolution, and negotiators have been working for weeks to get a new round on the calendar.
Before the Abu Dhabi meeting, American negotiators will hold working-level discussions this week in Brussels with representatives from France, Germany, Britain, the European Union and NATO. Those talks will focus on security guarantees for Ukraine, Europe's future security framework and economic support for Ukraine's reconstruction, the senior US official told Reuters.
What is on the table — and what is not settled
The agenda, as described by Witkoff, is broad: post-war security arrangements, de-escalation, humanitarian measures and next steps toward peace. According to Zelensky, as reported by the Kyiv Independent, one or two rounds of technical talks could pave the way for a trilateral summit involving himself, Trump and Putin. Zelensky has said the technical agenda could include a potential energy and maritime ceasefire, exchanges of military and civilian captives, and the return of Ukrainian children taken to Russia.
But the two sides remain far apart on the terms of any possible peace deal, Reuters reported. Trump has recently intensified pressure on Ukraine to strike some kind of agreement, while US Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed uncertainty on October 31 about whether a negotiated settlement is possible at all.
The announcement also landed on a grim day in the war. Hours earlier, Russian forces bombed an aid centre at a school in the village of Komyshuvakha in the Zaporizhzhia region, killing at least 24 people according to Ukrainian officials, with later reports putting the toll at 26. That contrast — a deadly strike and a new date for talks on the same day — captures where the war stands: diplomacy is moving again, but the fighting has not paused for it.
Why Abu Dhabi, and why now
The timing matters for both sides. Winter is approaching, when fighting traditionally slows and energy infrastructure becomes a central target. A deal before winter would ease pressure on Ukraine's power grid and on European energy markets; failure would leave both facing another cold season of strikes.
Europe is also preparing in parallel. Britain and France are leading a rehearsal in Poland this month, Exercise Koalicja, to test whether a multinational force could deploy to Ukraine if a peace agreement is reached. The exercise, involving nearly 3,000 personnel from 12 nations, is designed to show that security guarantees for Ukraine would be backed by real forces, not just promises.
For now, the confirmed facts are narrow: a date, a place, an agenda and the negotiators. Whether the Abu Dhabi round produces more than a meeting will depend on whether Moscow and Kyiv can close gaps that have survived every previous round — over territory, security guarantees and what a post-war Ukraine looks like. The last round was in February. This one, eight months later, is the first real test of whether that gap has narrowed at all.
Sources: Reuters, November 2, 2026; Al Jazeera, November 2, 2026; Kyiv Independent, November 2, 2026. The account of the talks is based on Witkoff's announcement and a senior US official speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity; the terms under discussion have not been published.