MOSCOW, Nov 12 – U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoys arrived in Moscow on Thursday for discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin, following two days of negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian officials in Abu Dhabi aimed at finding a path toward ending the war in Ukraine.
Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and a key figure in his diplomatic efforts, are expected to brief the Russian president on the outcome of the latest negotiations, which concluded Wednesday. Their visit comes as Washington continues efforts to bring Moscow and Kyiv closer to an agreement, despite persistent disagreements over territorial control, security guarantees and the future of European involvement in a potential peace settlement.
The Abu Dhabi meetings, held in the capital of the United Arab Emirates, brought together Russian and Ukrainian delegations for their first direct negotiations in nine months. Although the discussions produced an agreement on a major exchange of prisoners of war, they did not result in a publicly announced breakthrough on ending the conflict, which has continued for nearly five years.
Following their meeting with Putin, Kushner said that he and Witkoff would travel to Dublin, Ireland, to hold further discussions with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The planned meeting is expected to provide an opportunity to discuss the Russian position and assess whether the latest diplomatic contacts have created any room for progress.
Zelenskyy offered a cautious response to the outcome of the Abu Dhabi negotiations. He described the proposed prisoner exchange as a positive development, indicating that humanitarian agreements could provide a basis for maintaining communication between the two sides.
However, the Ukrainian president made clear that Kyiv would not accept Russian demands requiring Ukraine to surrender territory currently occupied by Russian forces as part of a peace agreement. His position reflects one of the most difficult obstacles facing negotiators, as Moscow and Kyiv continue to hold sharply different views about the territorial arrangements necessary to end the war.
The prisoner exchange agreement represents a limited achievement in negotiations that have so far failed to resolve the fundamental disagreements between the two countries. Russia and Ukraine have conducted several exchanges since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, providing relief to captured military personnel and their families. Nevertheless, these humanitarian arrangements have not translated into meaningful progress toward a comprehensive settlement.
Territorial control remains a central issue. Russia continues to demand recognition of its claims over occupied Ukrainian regions, while Kyiv maintains that accepting the loss of its internationally recognized territory would undermine Ukraine’s sovereignty and leave the country vulnerable to further aggression.
Security arrangements are another major challenge. Ukraine wants firm guarantees that Russia will not launch another military operation after any ceasefire or peace agreement. Moscow, meanwhile, has repeatedly raised concerns about NATO’s presence near its borders and demanded changes to the alliance’s military posture in Eastern Europe.
The question of European participation in negotiations has also become increasingly important. Moscow has expressed reluctance to involve European governments directly in discussions, while Ukraine and its European partners argue that the continent must have a meaningful role in determining the security arrangements that would follow the war.
Kushner indicated that encouraging European participation was among the objectives of the Moscow meeting. He stressed that both Russia and Ukraine needed clarity about their security arrangements after the conflict and argued that European countries, the European Union and NATO should be included in discussions to establish a broader understanding of the next steps.
His remarks suggest that Washington is attempting to widen the diplomatic process beyond direct negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv. European governments are particularly concerned about the long-term consequences of a settlement that could leave Ukraine exposed to another Russian attack or create uncertainty about the continent’s security framework.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday that European representatives could eventually become involved in the peace negotiations. However, he questioned whether European governments were currently demonstrating a willingness to contribute to diplomatic progress.
Peskov argued that statements coming from European capitals did not indicate a genuine desire to help move negotiations toward peace. Moscow has repeatedly criticized European countries for providing military equipment and financial assistance to Ukraine, claiming that their support has prolonged the conflict.
European governments have defended their assistance as necessary to help Ukraine protect itself against Russian military aggression. Many European officials believe that any durable settlement must include credible safeguards against future attacks and cannot simply rely on assurances from Moscow.
The disagreement over European involvement also reflects wider divisions surrounding NATO’s future role in the region. Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly identified the alliance’s eastward expansion as a major security concern for Moscow. The Kremlin has demanded that NATO withdraw its forces from areas close to Russian territory, a position rejected by alliance members.
For European governments, allowing Russia to influence NATO’s military arrangements could be viewed as granting Moscow concessions over the security decisions of independent countries. Several European officials have maintained that discussions about the continent’s future security structure can only begin after a ceasefire has been established.
While diplomatic efforts continue, fighting remains intense along the approximately 1,200-kilometer (750-mile) front line separating Russian and Ukrainian forces. Although relatively little territory has changed hands this year, both militaries continue to conduct long-range attacks involving missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said Thursday that its air defense systems had intercepted and destroyed 71 Ukrainian drones during overnight attacks. The announcement highlighted the continuing use of unmanned aircraft in the conflict, with both countries targeting military infrastructure and other strategic facilities far behind the front lines.
The Russian Defense Ministry also claimed that its forces had struck a facility in Kyiv involved in manufacturing drones, along with three other installations in the surrounding region. According to the ministry, those additional targets were involved in producing missile fuel and components used in unmanned aerial vehicles.
The ministry further reported strikes against electricity substations in the Zhytomyr region and a bulk carrier heading toward the Black Sea port of Odesa. Russian officials alleged that the vessel was transporting cargo intended for Ukraine’s armed forces.
The claims were presented by Russia’s military authorities, but the announcement did not provide independently verified details about the extent of the reported damage or the operational impact of the strikes.
Separately, a Russian military serviceman was killed early Thursday when a vehicle exploded in St. Petersburg, according to Russia’s Investigative Committee, the country’s principal criminal investigation agency.
The Investigative Committee did not publicly identify the serviceman or specify who might have been responsible for the explosion. It also did not immediately provide further details about the circumstances surrounding the incident.
However, the Russian news outlet Fontanka reported that the victim was a colonel and that an explosive device placed inside his vehicle detonated as he began driving away. The outlet also reported that another person who was accompanying him was injured in the blast.
The explosion adds to a series of attacks targeting Russian military personnel and other individuals connected to the country’s armed forces since the beginning of the war. Several senior Russian officers have previously been killed in bombings and other attacks on Russian territory.
Russian authorities have blamed Ukraine for a number of these incidents, although responsibility has not been established publicly in every case. Kyiv has acknowledged involvement in some operations targeting military and strategic sites inside Russia.
The latest incident in St. Petersburg comes at a sensitive moment for Moscow, as Russian officials prepare to assess the outcome of the Abu Dhabi negotiations and consider the next steps in discussions with Washington.
The upcoming meetings involving Putin, Witkoff and Kushner could help clarify whether Russia is prepared to consider adjustments to its position on territorial demands, security guarantees and the broader framework of a potential settlement. However, the significant differences between the two sides remain unresolved.
For Ukraine, the central concern is securing an agreement that protects its sovereignty and prevents another invasion. Russia continues to seek concessions over territory and NATO’s regional presence, while European governments want assurances that any settlement will not weaken the continent’s security.
Although the prisoner exchange agreement offers a limited sign of diplomatic progress, the absence of a broader breakthrough in Abu Dhabi underscores how difficult it will be to reach a lasting peace.
The discussions in Moscow, followed by the planned meeting in Dublin with Zelenskyy, represent another attempt by the Trump administration to narrow the differences between the two countries. Whether these diplomatic efforts can produce concrete commitments remains uncertain as military operations continue on the battlefield.