Russia and Ukraine hold their first U.S.-mediated talks since February in Abu Dhabi, and Rubio calls the first day “very productive” with a second day set for Wednesday

Russian and Ukrainian negotiators sat down with U.S. mediators in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, Nov. 10, in the first three-way talks on ending the war since February, according to Reuters and AP. Anadolu, via A News, places the previous round in Geneva on Feb. 17–18, after two earlier rounds in the Emirati capital in January and early February. The BBC says that after the Geneva round, the U.S.-Israel war on Iran pulled Washington’s attention away from Ukraine and no further discussions took place until now. The talks began at about 11:15 a.m. Moscow time (12:15 a.m. PT), TASS reports, and Anadolu cites Russian state media, including RIA, for an 0800 GMT start.

Who sat at the table, according to the outlets: Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky led Moscow’s team, which also included Deputy Foreign Ministers Sergei Ryabkov and Mikhail Galuzin and military intelligence chief Igor Kostyukov, AP and the BBC report. Rustem Umerov, head of Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service, led Kyiv’s delegation, with presidential chief of staff Kyrylo Budanov and lawmaker Davyd Arakhamiya among its members, the BBC says; AP describes Budanov’s place on the team as reported. TASS, citing a source, counts five Russian delegation members and six experts, and bne IntelliNews calls it an 11-member delegation. TASS adds that Witkoff, Kushner, NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe, Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, and UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan sat at the table as the talks opened. The BBC spells one Russian general’s name Yury Zhigarlovsky; TASS spells it Yury Zhigalovsky.

Kushner opened the session with a call for a new framework. The goal, he said, according to AP, involves an effort to “create a new framework and a new understanding building upon the different institutions and understandings of the past.” He added: “We take what’s worked, we try to identify what’s failed, why we’re in this position and hopefully create a new framework that leads us for decades, if not centuries, of peace.” The BBC reports that Kushner told delegates the U.S. had “narrowed the gaps” between the two sides, without giving details. Umerov, AP says, thanked Washington: “Our people are waiting to end this war. And we hope that we will achieve the lasting peace for Ukraine.” Medinsky expressed hope the meeting “will allow us to advance on the path towards peace in the interests of the people of Russia and the people of Ukraine,” according to AP.

Before the three-way session, the Ukrainian team met the U.S. envoys and representatives of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, NATO and the European Commission, Umerov said, according to AP. A joint statement Kushner posted on X after that meeting said participants “emphasized that any future arrangements must respect sovereignty, territorial integrity, independent decision-making, and provide credible security guarantees for Ukraine,” and that “a strong NATO will remain central to Euro-Atlantic collective defense.”

Rubio spoke to reporters in Paris after the G7 foreign ministers’ meeting. “In addition, I reported back to them and just got an update just a few moments ago – it looks like the talks in Abu Dhabi were very productive,” he said, according to the State Department transcript. “Obviously, there’s a lot of work to be done in that regard. It’s not like something that’s on the verge of being solved in the next 24 hours or anything like that. But what’s really important is that the Europeans are at the table.” He said Washington’s goal involves expanding the format “so it’s not just the U.S., Ukraine, and Russia, but also that the Europeans be represented at that table directly with these talks.” Asked whether the Russians showed seriousness, Rubio said: “Well, that’s what we’re testing, obviously.” He added that Europe had “representatives there of five countries in the EU” in Abu Dhabi; the list Umerov gave, as AP reports it, names four countries, including the United Kingdom, which left the EU, plus NATO and the European Commission.

Zelenskyy, who spent the day in Denmark, set out what Kyiv says the session covered. “The trilateral format was constructive and quite substantive. They had time to discuss the need and possible parameters for humanitarian steps. The release of prisoners is a priority,” he wrote in a post on X. “They spoke in detail about the substance of security guarantees for Ukraine and the foundations for ensuring these guarantees function over the long term. Real tools are needed to block any recurrence of the war. The need for de-escalation steps was also touched upon.” AP reports that he said, during an appearance at the University of Copenhagen, that the talks also covered returning Ukrainian civilians held in captivity and children taken from the country, and a senior Ukrainian official, speaking anonymously to AP, said the sides discussed a large-scale prisoner swap. Ukrainska Pravda quotes Zelenskyy as saying, in Ukrainian, that the sides discussed an exchange of 1,000 for 1,000, perhaps 1,500 for 1,500, and that the Russian side raised the question of territory, which he called a matter for leaders (desk translation; the outlet’s source line dates his news conference Nov. 11, although the item appeared the evening of Nov. 10, Kyiv time).

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on Telegram that Ukraine had handed partners its proposals for a ceasefire at sea in the Black Sea and in the energy sector and now awaits Russia’s answer, Ukrainska Pravda reports (desk translation). Kushner, in a post on X late Tuesday, Abu Dhabi time, said: “We are encouraged by the constructive discussions today.” Russian officials gave few details in public. Ryabkov, a member of the Russian delegation, told Vesti it came “too early to talk about that” when asked about results, TASS reports, and Reuters reports “no immediate comment from Russia on what was discussed.”

The two sides still disagree on the core terms. Moscow has demanded that Ukraine give up the parts of the Donetsk region it still holds, while Kyiv wants to freeze the contact line, the BBC reports; Putin also demands that Ukraine drop its NATO bid and accept strict limits on its military, according to AP. A U.S. official, speaking on the eve of the talks, said both sides had shown “a little bit of flexibility, privately,” the BBC says, and added: “They will not solve the Donetsk issue and the territorial issue until they know what the security architecture is going to be after the war.” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in Moscow that defining a future security architecture first, “and only then moving on to resolving the actual Russia-Ukraine conflict, is absolutely reasonable,” according to Reuters, and he rejected a truce, saying, “We will not agree to it,” the BBC reports. On the Europeans in Abu Dhabi, Lavrov said, “Let them stay in the hotel there,” according to bne IntelliNews, citing TASS.

The fighting continued around the talks. Russia struck 10 Ukrainian regions overnight, hitting five major electrical substations, causing power outages and killing two people, officials said, according to Reuters. AP cites Ukraine’s air force as saying Russia launched 162 drones and a ballistic missile overnight, and Russia’s Defense Ministry as saying its forces downed 155 Ukrainian drones. The Guardian, citing the Kyiv Independent, puts the toll from Russian attacks across Ukraine over the past day at nine or more dead and 39 injured, a wider count than the substation strikes alone. In Copenhagen, Zelenskyy announced a new €645 million Danish defense package, mainly for drones, F-16 ammunition and PURL purchases, in a separate post on X; the Guardian reports the Danish figure as 4.8 billion kroner.

What comes next: the delegations plan a second day of talks on Wednesday, Nov. 11, according to AP and TASS. Ukrainska Pravda reports that Zelenskyy expects Wednesday to cover de-escalation steps, energy, the Black Sea and a three-way meeting at the leaders’ level. bne IntelliNews, citing Axios, reports that Witkoff and Kushner may travel on to Kyiv and Moscow once the Abu Dhabi round ends.