In a surprise move, Russia, Ukraine and the US are holding direct trilateral peace talks in Abu Dhabi for the first time later today – with informal negotiations already under way. But Moscow has not eased its attacks across Ukraine. Follow live below.
Friday 23 January 2026 15:36, UK
The first trilateral talks between Russia, Ukraine and the US have now begun in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates says.
“The talks commenced today in Abu Dhabi and are scheduled to continue over two days, as part of ongoing efforts to promote dialogue and identify political solutions to the crisis,” Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE’s deputy prime minister and foreign affairs minister, says.
Ukraine, Russia and the US have dispatched their negotiating teams to Abu Dhabi for the first trilateral negotiations since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Ukraine’s delegation leader Rustem Umerov heads a team of 10 people.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin has remained tight-lipped on who exactly is on the team but has revealed that it will be led by Igor Kostyukov, a security official.
The US delegation will notably include, for the first time, Josh Gruenbaum, newly appointed by Trump as a senior adviser to his Board of Peace.
Here’s a rundown of the most important players today…
On the sidelines of the security talks, Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev is supposed to discuss economic issues with Steve Witkoff.
The pair were behind a controversial 28-point peace plan that was devised late last year.
Our presenter Leah Boleto has been speaking to Ukrainian MP Kira Rudik.
She tells us that despite the diplomatic developments, she isn’t hopeful about how things may unfold because Russia keeps attacking Ukraine.
Watch her speaking below…
By Kieren Williams, live news reporter
A lot has happened this week and today we’ve got the first-ever trilateral talks of the war between the US, Russia and Ukraine.
But how much progress has there actually been on a deal to end the war?
Who’s saying what?
This week, Donald Trump told our business and economics correspondent Paul Kelso, in Davos, that a peace deal was “getting close”.
Watch that here…
Trump’s US, though, has a tendency to be optimistic about the progress of peace talks at times – and the president himself can change his mind from one extreme to another.
It was not even two weeks ago that he was accusing Volodymyr Zelenskyy of getting in the way of peace. Prior to that, Trump had said he thought the war in Ukraine would end “pretty soon”.
Ukraine has also suggested peace efforts are progressing, but it’s been more guarded in what it has said than Washington.
During his speech at Davos yesterday, Zelenskyy said: “The documents aimed at ending this war are nearly ready.”
This morning, he added that he was waiting for Trump to set a time and place to sign a deal on US security guarantees.
It isn’t clear if these are references to the same documents but it shows Kyiv thinks things are progressing at least.
Russia has walked a careful line – staying on Trump’s good side without overly committing to anything and maintaining its demands of Ukraine in the event of any possible peace deal.
In comments just this morning, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that Russia stands by “the Anchorage formula”.
This appears to be what Moscow claims was agreed between Trump and Vladimir Putin during a meeting in Alaska last August.
The specifics are not known, but reportedly involve Ukraine giving up large amounts of territory (more on that to come).
Peskov today added:
“Russia’s position is well known: Ukraine and the Ukrainian Armed Forces must leave the territory of Donbas and withdraw from there.”
This ties back to what seems to be the outstanding and unresolved issue – territory.
What’s the stumbling block?
Earlier this week, speaking at Davos, US special envoy Steve Witkoff said just “one issue” remains unsolved.
This is the stumbling block of territory – a problem that has so far been insurmountable.
Vladimir Putin has demanded Ukraine hand over swathes more land – including its so far impenetrable fortress cities – in return for a cessation of fighting.
Ukraine, meanwhile, has called for negotiations to be centred around the current line of contact (see above).
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said the issue of territory will be discussed in Abu Dhabi today.
In our explainer below, we also explain if there are any precedents for today’s peace talks, who is negotiating and how things are looking for Ukraine on the ground.
Follow the link to read more…
Late last night, Hungary very publicly criticised Volodymyr Zelenskyy and we’ve had a response from Ukraine now.
Andrii Sybiha, the country’s foreign minister, responded on social media to the comments made by Viktor Orban, as well as further comments made to media this morning.
The Ukrainian foreign minister says: “Your master in Moscow won’t last 100 years even if you were ready to donate him all organs.”
It comes after Orban vowed to not support Ukraine in its war or efforts to join the EU.
For context: Orban has long been Russia’s most reliable and vocal supporter within the EU and long opposed Ukraine and criticsed its fight back against Russia.
Peace talks between Russia, Ukraine and the US are accompanied by claims that the parties are “closer now than ever before” to a deal.
But this is “to say they’re not close enough because the gap between them is huge”, says our military analyst Michael Clarke.
There is an ongoing disagreement over Russian demands that Ukraine surrender its belt of “fortress cities” in the Donbas, as we’ve been reporting throughout the day.
In his analysis, Clarke explains the significance of this defence for Ukraine and shares more on the characters around the negotiating table.
Watch him share his insight below…
For more of Clarke’s insights on Ukraine, follow the link to our live blog on his weekly Q&A in which he is answering your questions on the war.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he’s held consultations with Ukraine’s negotiating team before the formal part of the talks in Abu Dhabi kicks off.
“I spoke with the head of the delegation, Rustem Umerov,” the Ukrainian president said.
“The entire team was on speakerphone – we spoke with everyone. Everyone understands what needs to be done.”
His team has the licence to choose the right formats for talks on the ground, as they’re entering uncharted territory, Zelenskyy said.
“Such a format is taking place for the first time in a long while,” he acknowledged.
While Zelenskyy isn’t there, he will be “in constant contact” with the team, he added.
While much of today’s news is focused on diplomatic developments – often outside Ukraine – here’s some of the latest from the frontline.
The city of Pokrovsk was a flashpoint of the war late last year, with Russia making a massive push to try to take the city.
Ukraine claims its soldiers are hanging on in northern parts of the city, with troops saying the harsh winter is aiding their defence.
Colonel Volodymyr Polevyi, of the 7th Rapid Response Corps, shared a defence report of Pokrovsk this morning. He says:
“Russian offensive potential is beginning to degrade. Adverse weather conditions, combined with a systemic disregard for personnel welfare, are among the key contributing factors.”
Colonel Polevyi says that the harsh winter benefits the defending army as they can be better supplied and prepared against the conditions.
However, he adds, for troops “on the offensive”, the winter poses multiple problems and can claim lives.
By Ivor Bennett, Moscow correspondent
I think the latest comments from the Kremlin serve as a bit of a reality check.
The Ukrainians and the US might be saying that the talks in Abu Dhabi will focus on territory, with the US in particular raising hopes that a deal may be close.
But there was no mention of that from Moscow.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the trilateral meeting will focus on security issues, hence why Russia’s delegation is made up exclusively of military officers.
He called it a “working group”, implying they’ll be discussing technical details only.
These could be related to territory. For example, they might be discussing how a possible solution is policed, or the process of how forces withdraw from the contested territory.
Or they might be discussing something else. We simply don’t know.
But the one thing Peskov did say on territory certainly didn’t sound like Moscow was ready to compromise.
Asked if Russia still wants full control of the Donbas, he said:
“Russia’s position is well known. Ukraine and the Ukrainian Armed Forces must leave the territory of Donbas and withdraw from there. This is a very important condition.”
So, unless Kyiv is suddenly willing to give up territory Russia hasn’t yet occupied, it’s unclear how the Trump administration plans to bridge this gap.
The Kremlin also said that economic issues will be discussed in the UAE, but in a bilateral format with the US.
In this meeting, the Russian delegation will be led by Vladimir Putin’s investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev.
Again, he didn’t say exactly what the economic issues are, but it’s most likely related to a post-war prosperity package, after Putin said he’s willing to commit frozen Russian assets held in the US to the reconstruction of areas “affected by the war”.
There’s still a question over which areas exactly Moscow means.
Is it all areas affected by the fighting, or just areas it controls?
On that, Peskov’s words won’t be reassuring to Kyiv:
“In this context, I can say one thing: the territories located in Donbas have indeed suffered significantly as a result of the fighting.”
It sounds like there’s still some way to go before a peace settlement.
Watch Bennett’s latest analysis from Moscow here…
Michael Clarke, our resident defence expert, is back to answer your questions on the war in Ukraine.
Watch and follow live using the link below…
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