Russia-Ukraine War Talks Collapse In Abu Dhabi, No Peace Deal as Moscow Pounds Kyiv With Fresh Deadly Strikes

Russia-Ukraine War: Trilateral talks involving representatives from Moscow, Kyiv, and the United States aimed at ending the war in Ukraine concluded on Saturday in Abu Dhabi without any announced breakthrough, according to the AFP news agency. The report cited a Ukrainian negotiator familiar with the discussions.

Russia’s state-owned news agency RIA Novosti reported that the Russian delegation returned to their hotels following the conclusion of the talks, while the US delegation departed for the airport. No joint statement or formal outcome was released at the end of the negotiations.

The discussions were part of an ongoing diplomatic effort to end the nearly four-year-long war between Russia and Ukraine.

Russia-Ukraine War Talks Coincide With Deadly Overnight Strikes on Kyiv

The conclusion of the peace talks came on the same day Russia carried out an overnight airstrike on Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv. According to a Reuters report, the attack killed at least one person and injured four others.

The strike also targeted the city’s power infrastructure, leaving nearly 1.2 million properties without electricity. In addition to Kyiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, was also hit as Russia launched hundreds of drones and missiles across the country.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Accuses Putin of Acting “Cynically”

Reacting to the attacks, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, who was not present at the Abu Dhabi talks, accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of acting in bad faith.

“The strikes by hundreds of Russian drones and missiles on Kyiv and Ukraine’s second largest city Kharkiv prompted Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha… to accuse Russian President Vladimir Putin of acting ‘cynically,’” the report said.

In a post on X, Sybiha wrote, “This barbaric attack once again proves that Putin’s place is not at (U.S. President Donald Trump’s) Board of Peace, but in the dock of the special tribunal.”

Russia-Ukraine Peace Talks Began Friday, Focused on Ending the War

The trilateral peace talks between Russia, Ukraine and the United States began on Friday in Abu Dhabi. Ahead of the discussions, Ukraine’s chief negotiator, Rustem Umerov, outlined the scope of the talks.

According to Umerov, the discussions focused “on the parameters for ending Russia’s war and the further logic of the negotiation process.”

Despite these efforts, the talks concluded without any publicly announced progress.

Russia Reiterates Donbas Demands 

Before the negotiations began, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov made it clear that Moscow had not softened its position on territorial issues. Speaking on Friday, Peskov said Russia continued to insist that Ukraine yield all of its eastern Donbas region.

The Donbas area, Ukraine’s industrial heartland, includes the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.

One of the most significant stumbling blocks in the negotiations remains President Vladimir Putin’s demand that Ukraine surrender the 20% of Donetsk it still controls,  an area covering approximately 5,000 square kilometres (1,900 square miles).

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has consistently refused to give up territory that Russian forces have failed to capture over four years of what has been described as grinding, attritional warfare.

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