At a Glance

• Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin after two days of Russia-Ukraine talks in Abu Dhabi.

• The Abu Dhabi talks ended with an agreement on a large prisoner exchange.

• The envoys then headed to Dublin to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived at the Kremlin on Thursday for talks with Vladimir Putin, as Washington tries to build momentum for peace efforts after the first direct Russia-Ukraine discussions in nine months.

Key Statements and Focus Area

• Zelenskyy on the Opportunity: "So today there really is this opportunity, this window of opportunity, when all those involved in the negotiating process genuinely want to achieve a result before 2027." — Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine.

• Zelenskyy on Political Change: "The political landscape in Europe could change in 2027 … we also see changes already taking place in the United States." — Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

• Focus Area: The US push to bring Europe into the Russia-Ukraine negotiations and the prospects for a deal.

Kushner said one goal of the Kremlin meeting was to win Putin's blessing for European representatives to join talks on the continent's broader security arrangements.

Washington and Zelenskyy want Europe to appoint a single negotiator to deal with Moscow, which currently opposes European involvement, accusing Europe of financing and arming Ukraine.

Many in Europe, meanwhile, fear that discussing European security with Russia could mean concessions on NATO.

After meeting Putin, the envoys planned to fly to Dublin to meet Zelenskyy, who is attending a gathering of more than 40 European countries that includes NATO chief Mark Rutte.

The Abu Dhabi talks, which wrapped up Wednesday, produced no visible breakthrough, though the sides agreed on a large prisoner exchange, with the number still to be settled.

Zelenskyy called the swap a positive step but insisted Ukraine will not surrender occupied territory for peace.

The fate of that territory and post-war security guarantees remain the main obstacles.

Fighting continues along the 1,200-kilometer front line as another winter approaches.

Ukraine's air force said Russia launched missiles and 123 drones overnight, with hits recorded at 17 locations, while Russia said it downed 71 Ukrainian drones and struck a drone plant near Kyiv, power substations in Zhytomyr, and a cargo ship bound for Odesa.

Zelenskyy also said Ukraine is again facing slowdowns in the US Starshield satellite system, including speed limits on its drones, which a military investigation found were not random errors.

Separately, a Russian colonel was reportedly killed by a car bomb in St. Petersburg.

FYI

Russia's full-scale invasion began on February 24, 2022, after fighting started in eastern Ukraine in 2014.

Last month, SpaceX throttled Starlink service in Ukraine for about a week, with Elon Musk saying the system could not be used for offensive strikes against Russia.

Moscow has demanded that NATO troops be pulled back from its borders and has described the alliance's eastward expansion as a top security threat.

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