US plans Ukraine and Russia peace talks in Abu Dhabi next week

Delegations from Ukraine and Russia will meet in Abu Dhabi next week for US-mediated negotiations on ending the war, US envoy Steve Witkoff has announced. Writing on social media, he said the agenda would include security agreements for the period after the war, de-escalation and humanitarian measures. A senior US official told Reuters that Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, were expected to represent Washington.

Russian president Vladimir Putin agreed to another round of trilateral negotiations following a meeting with Witkoff in St Petersburg two weeks ago. Kyiv and Moscow remain divided over the terms of a possible settlement. Their previous trilateral peace talks mediated by Washington were held in February, before the US and Israel began a war against Iran.

Before the Abu Dhabi meeting, US negotiators will hold discussions in Brussels this week with representatives of Britain, France, Germany, the EU and Nato, Witkoff said. Those consultations will focus on guarantees for Ukraine’s security, arrangements for European security after the war and economic opportunities to help rebuild Ukraine.

The diplomatic announcements came as Ukrainian authorities reported a deadly Russian attack in the south-eastern Zaporizhzhia region. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the emergency services said 26 people were killed on Monday when Russian forces bombed a village school being used to distribute aid. Zelenskyy said aerial bombs initially hit as people were arriving, followed by a second attack on a shelter.

Britain and France also announced on Tuesday that about 2,800 troops from 10 European countries would take part this month in the first exercise for a new multinational force supporting Ukraine. The force, led by London and Paris, has no offensive role and would deploy only after a ceasefire agreement to end the war that began with Russia’s 2022 invasion.

The exercise will run from 9 to 22 November in south-eastern Poland, near the Ukrainian border. A joint statement released by France’s defence ministry said it would assess how quickly and efficiently participating nations could deploy forces by land, sea and air after hostilities end. British defence minister Wes Streeting described the force as ready to assist Ukraine once fighting stops.

Meanwhile, unidentified hackers attacked Ukraine’s nationwide emergency alert app, issuing false warnings to Kyiv residents. The messages claimed that a nuclear strike was imminent and also falsely reported a chemical threat and street fighting in the capital.

Ukraine separately accused Russia of using last week’s US-backed humanitarian ceasefire around Oleshky, in the southern Kherson region, to reinforce its military position. The US said nearly 800 people were evacuated from the Russian-occupied town during the six-day pause, which both sides praised as successful. Kyiv’s general staff said on Monday that Russian troops had used it to rotate personnel, strengthen defences and improve logistics. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said he lacked specific information about troop movements, but called adjustments during a ceasefire “standard practice” and suggested Ukraine had probably done the same.