Overview
- The UAE Foreign Ministry said the first direct Ukraine–Russia talks in months began Friday in Abu Dhabi and will continue Saturday with U.S. mediation.
- Moscow is represented by military delegates instructed by President Vladimir Putin and is pressing the so‑called Anchorage formula requiring a Ukrainian withdrawal from the Donbass.
- President Volodymyr Zelensky said a U.S.–Ukraine agreement on security guarantees is reached and now awaits presidential signatures and parliamentary processes.
- U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met Putin in Moscow ahead of the Abu Dhabi meetings as part of a broader diplomatic push.
- Analysts and reporting indicate the talks are expected to set out a framework or roadmap rather than end the war immediately, and media suggestions tying reconstruction funds to territorial concessions remain unconfirmed.