Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed what he described as a change in the approach of US mediators as peace talks with Russia enter their second day in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, although no progress has been announced.
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“I see changes. I am very happy with what I hear,” Zelensky told reporters in Copenhagen on Tuesday, calling the talks “constructive and quite substantive.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also called the negotiations “very productive”, while US envoy Jared Kushner said Washington had narrowed the gaps between the two sides, without providing further details.
Yet the positive assessments have done little to obscure the deep divisions between kyiv and Moscow, particularly over territory and the terms of a ceasefire.
Wednesday’s talks are expected to focus on de-escalation measures, including energy infrastructure and the Black Sea, as well as the possibility of a trilateral leaders-level meeting.
Territorial disagreements remain
Territory remains one of the main points of friction, with Moscow demanding that Ukraine withdraw its forces from eastern regions, including areas still under kyiv’s control.
Zelensky said Russian negotiators had falsely claimed that Moscow’s forces had captured half of the Donbas territory still under Ukrainian control.
The kyiv delegation disputed these claims with video evidence, while Supreme Allied Commander Europe General Alexus Grynkewich, also present in Abu Dhabi, confirmed that maps of the Ukrainian battlefield were closer to reality, according to Zelenskyy.
The Ukrainian president suggested that Vladimir Putin had been misled about Russia’s military advances and believed his forces could capture remaining Ukrainian-controlled territory in the east within months, although they have failed to take full control of Donbas since Russia’s first invasion of Ukraine in 2014.
Zelensky stressed that territorial issues should ultimately be resolved at the leadership level rather than by negotiators in Abu Dhabi.
Ahead of the negotiations, US President Donald Trump suggested that Ukraine might have to agree to territorial changes, saying the country would end up with “a little bit of a different shape”.
Security guarantees and Europe’s role
Washington and Moscow are also seeking to address Europe’s broader security arrangements as part of the negotiations.
Kushner said the United States wanted a new security framework involving Ukraine, Russia and Europe, while a source within the Russian delegation described ending the war as simply an item on Moscow’s agenda.
Russia’s inclusion of Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov is significant. Before the full-scale 2022 invasion, he participated in Moscow’s demands for NATO to reduce its military presence in Eastern Europe.
European officials held separate consultations in Abu Dhabi but are not participating in the trilateral negotiations. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov dismissed their presence, saying: “Well, they flew to Abu Dhabi. Let them sit in the hotel.”
Rubio said, however, that the Europeans should eventually join the negotiations because they are “helping to solve this problem.”
Ceasefire and exchange of prisoners
Moscow continues to reject an immediate ceasefire, with Lavrov accusing European governments of seeking to give Ukraine time to recover its military losses.
Yet Russia itself used the years following the 2014-2015 Minsk ceasefire agreements to consolidate its military and political hold in eastern Ukraine, before launching its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
kyiv hopes that limited truces could pave the way for a broader ceasefire, following last month’s humanitarian operation in Russian-occupied Oleshky, which saw the delivery of aid and the evacuation of civilians.
A large-scale prisoner exchange is also under discussion. Zelensky said the two sides were considering exchanging 1,000 prisoners each, or potentially 1,500 each, and that U.S. officials were expected to travel to Russia to continue negotiations.
The proposal follows May 2025 negotiations in Istanbul, when kyiv and Moscow agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners each despite the failure of a ceasefire. No new deal has yet been officially announced.
Humanitarian arrangements and prisoner exchanges have so far produced the only tangible results of diplomatic efforts, with no agreement on a broader ceasefire or peace settlement.
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