Second trilateral talks between Ukraine, Russia and US get underway in Abu Dhabi
Envoys from Russia and Ukraine met in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday on the first day of the two-day peace talks aimed at ending the nearly four-year war. The delegations from Moscow and Kyiv were joined in the United Arab Emirates by US officials, Rustem Umerov, Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council chief, who was present at the meeting, said on social media.
Second trilateral talks in UAE
Umerov said the planned two-day negotiations started with all three delegations present, after which negotiators were to break into groups according to topics and then meet as a full group again at the end.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that “the doors for a peaceful settlement are open,” but noted that Moscow will press its military action until Kyiv meets its demands.
The second round of talks was originally scheduled for the weekend, and there were reports that the US might not take part in it. However, the White House confirmed on Tuesday that American envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would take part on Wednesday.
Russia continues attack on Ukraine
The second round of the trilateral talks is taking place in the UAE capital, even as Russia continues to target Ukrainian energy infrastructure, leaving thousands without electricity and heating in the harsh winter.
Russia carried out a major overnight attack on Ukraine in what President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday was a broken commitment to halt striking energy infrastructure as the countries prepared for more talks on ending Moscow’s 4-year-old full-scale invasion.
The bombardment included hundreds of drones and a record 32 ballistic missiles, wounding at least 10 people. It specifically took aim at the power grid, Zelenskyy said, as part of what Ukraine says is Moscow’s ongoing campaign to deny civilians light, heating and running water during one of the coldest winters in many years.
“Taking advantage of the coldest days of winter to terrorize people is more important to Russia than diplomacy,” Zelenskyy said.
Putin promised Trump not to attack power grid
The Russian attacks come even after Vladimir Putin reportedly agreed to Donald Trump that he would temporarily halt strikes on Ukraine’s power grid.
There has been a lack of clarity about how long Putin promised to observe a pause on power grid attacks, and Moscow hasn’t stopped its aerial attacks on other targets in Ukraine despite a Kremlin official saying last week that Russia had agreed to halt strikes on Kyiv for a week until February 1.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said late Tuesday that barely four days had passed and a fresh wave of attacks targeted Ukraine’s power grid, accusing Putin of duplicity.
Trump claimed Tuesday that Putin “kept his word” on the temporary pause. Meanwhile, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump was “unfortunately unsurprised” by Moscow’s resumption of attacks.
According to Peskov, Russia is hitting Ukraine’s energy facilities because its armed forces believe the targets are associated with Kyiv’s military effort.
First trilateral peace talks
The first round of trilateral peace talks between Ukraine, Russia, and the United States took place in Abu Dhabi on January 23–24, 2026. This was the first direct meeting involving all three countries since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.
While both Russia and Ukraine described the talks as “constructive,” they failed to achieve any breakthrough in ending the war.
Russia has insisted on the Ukrainian withdrawal from the Donetsk and Luhansk regions and control over the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. On the other hand, Ukraine said the conflict should be frozen along the current front line and has rejected any unilateral pullback of its forces.
