Representatives from the United States, Ukraine and Russia are expected to meet in Abu Dhabi next week for two days of talks on ending the war, according to US special envoy Steve Witkoff. The working-level discussions are scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday in the United Arab Emirates’ capital.
Witkoff said the agenda would include postwar security arrangements, de-escalation, humanitarian assistance and possible next steps toward peace. The three countries last held talks in Geneva in February, following two earlier meetings in Abu Dhabi.
Before the negotiations, US envoys are due to meet European representatives, NATO and the European Union in Brussels this week. Witkoff said those discussions would address security guarantees for Ukraine, Europe’s postwar security order and reconstruction.
The planned talks come as attacks continue. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at least 26 people were killed in a Russian airstrike on Monday in Komyshuvakha, in the Zaporizhzhia region. The strike hit a school where humanitarian aid was being distributed, he said. At least five people were injured, and local authorities reported that 27 people were missing as search efforts continued.
Zelenskyy also warned that Russia was planning a major attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure during the US congressional elections, citing intelligence assessments. He urged the international community to increase pressure on Moscow to end the war.
Separately, Zelenskyy described the hacking of a Russian air-raid warning app as retaliation after Ukraine’s own alert app was breached. Both incidents involved false warnings sent to users, he said.
In Poland, about 2,800 troops from 11 countries are due to begin a military exercise on Monday under the Coalition of the Willing. The British and French-led exercise is intended to test how a lasting peace could be secured after the war and is scheduled to run until November 22. Britain said it would send around 300 military personnel and several fighter jets.
Sources: Handelsblatt.