The delegations of Russia and Ukraine held a day of negotiations this Wednesday, February 4, in Abu Dhabi, with 20 days left until four years of war ends. The contacts, which have the presence of the US, will continue on Thursday. "The work was substantive and productive," said Rustem Umerov, head of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council.
First modification: 02/05/2026 - 01:22Last modification: 02/05/2026 - 01:26
Ukrainian and Russian officials concluded a "productive" day of new US-backed talks in Abu Dhabi, kyiv's top negotiator said Wednesday, as fighting continued in Europe's biggest conflict since World War II.
The two-day meetings come after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia had taken advantage of a US-backed energy truce last week to stockpile ammunition and attack Ukraine with a record number of ballistic missiles on Tuesday.
"The work was substantive and productive, focused on concrete steps and practical solutions," wrote Rustem Umerov, head of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, in X.
A U.S. official, who offered comments on condition of anonymity, also called the talks productive and said they would continue Thursday morning.
Zelensky, speaking in his late-night video address, warned that it was crucial that the talks lead to real peace and did not offer Russia a new opportunity to continue the war. Ukraine's partners, he said, have to put more pressure on Moscow.
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"It must be felt now. People in Ukraine must feel that the situation is genuinely moving towards peace and an end to the war, not towards Russia using everything to its advantage and continuing attacks," Zelensky said.
Zelensky also said Ukraine hopes the talks will soon lead to a new prisoner exchange.
The president, in addition, interviewed by the French television channel France 2, indicated that the number of Ukrainian soldiers killed on the battlefield as a result of the war with Russia was estimated at 55,000.
Shortly after talks began, Russian forces attacked a crowded market in eastern Ukraine with cluster munitions, killing at least seven people and wounding 15, Donetsk region governor Vadym Filashkin said.
Photos released by the UAE Foreign Ministry showed the three delegations around a U-shaped table, with US officials seated in the center, including special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law.
In Paris, diplomatic sources said Emmanuel Bonne, the top diplomat in French President Emmanuel Macron's government, met with Russian officials in the Kremlin on Tuesday.
One of the sources gave few details beyond saying that the goal was to have a dialogue on key issues, with an emphasis on Ukraine.
The main differences remain in the key points
The Trump administration has pressured both kyiv and Moscow to reach a compromise to end the nearly four-year war, but the two sides remain far apart on key points despite several rounds of talks with U.S. officials.
"The good news is that, for the first time in a long time, we have technical military teams from Ukraine and Russia meeting in a forum in which we will also participate with our experts," said Secretary of State Marco Rubio, from Washington.
"I don't want to say that talks alone are progress, but it's good that there is compromise," he added.
The most sensitive issues are Moscow's demands that kyiv give up territories it still controls and the fate of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, Europe's largest, which is located in an area occupied by Russia.
Read alsoAround 55,000 Ukrainian soldiers have died since the start of the war, says Zelensky
Moscow wants kyiv to withdraw its troops from the entire Donetsk region, including fortified towns considered some of Ukraine's strongest defenses, as a precondition for any deal.
kyiv, for its part, rejects any unilateral retreat of its forces.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said Wednesday that Russian troops will continue fighting until kyiv makes "decisions" that could end the war.
Russia occupies about 20% of the Ukrainian national territory, including Crimea and parts of the eastern Donbass region taken before the 2022 invasion. Analysts estimate that Moscow has gained about 1.5% of Ukrainian territory since the beginning of 2024.
"Russia is not winning its war against Ukraine," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha told the online media 'Liga' on Tuesday.
Ukrainians oppose painful concessions
Polls show that most Ukrainians oppose a deal that gives more land to Moscow. kyiv residents said they were skeptical that the new talks would bring a breakthrough.
"Hopefully something will change, of course. But I don't think anything will change now," said Serhii, 38, a taxi driver. "We will not give in, and they will not give in either," he added.
The first round of talks was held in the United Arab Emirates last month.
With Reuters
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