US to mediate Ukraine-Russia talks in Abu Dhabi on Nov. 10–11, Witkoff announces

The United States will bring Ukraine and Russia to the table in Abu Dhabi on November 10–11 for the first US-mediated trilateral peace talks since February, US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff announced Monday — even as Russia launched an overnight strike on Ukrainian energy facilities and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned the attack was timed to coincide with American midterm elections.

The United States will mediate working-level negotiations between Ukraine and Russia on November 10–11 in Abu Dhabi, advancing President Trump's mission to end the war. Discussions will focus on post-war security arrangements, de-escalation, humanitarian efforts, and next steps toward peace.— Steve Witkoff, US Special Envoy

Witkoff and Jared Kushner are expected to lead the US delegation, according to Reuters, citing a senior US official. The talks build on earlier diplomatic contacts in Kyiv, Oslo, and St. Petersburg — the last of which, held two weeks ago, produced Putin's agreement to resume negotiations after Witkoff met the Russian president there.

We look forward to building on the progress made in Kyiv, Oslo, and St. Petersburg toward a comprehensive, durable peace agreement that delivers lasting security for generations to come.— Steve Witkoff, US Special Envoy

Before the Abu Dhabi meeting, junior US negotiators are set to gather in Brussels this week with counterparts from France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the EU, and NATO. Topics on the agenda include security guarantees for Ukraine, the shape of Europe's post-war security architecture, and economic avenues for supporting Ukraine's reconstruction, Witkoff said.

The diplomatic push comes at a fraught moment. The previous round of US-mediated trilateral talks collapsed in February when the US and Israel launched a war against Iran. Since then, Trump's envoys have shuttled between Kyiv and Moscow, and Putin travelled to Alaska in August for a summit with Trump. On the central question of territory, the two sides remain deeply divided, according to Axios.

The White House is betting that a series of concessions to Moscow will make Putin more willing to deal. Trump ordered a sanctions waiver for Russian diesel amid a worsening global energy crisis — a reversal that came only weeks after he signed into law a sanctions law raising duties on Russian goods by up to 500 percent and requiring tariffs of up to 100 percent on top buyers of Russian energy such as China and India, according to The National News. According to Axios, Putin's willingness to return to the negotiating table appears to be the only concession he has offered so far.

US relations with Kyiv are also under strain. Trump has pressed Ukrainian leaders to stop striking Russian oil depots and, in recent weeks, told White House reporters, 'I think it's time for Ukraine to get a new president,' according to The National News. At the same time, he indicated he would be open to extending Zelensky an invitation to the next Group of 20 summit, to be held in Florida next month.

On the ground, the contrast with the diplomatic calendar is stark. Russia launched a large overnight strike on energy facilities in the Vinnytsia, Dnipropetrovsk, and Kharkiv regions, as well as port infrastructure in the Odesa region, the Russian defence ministry said, according to The Guardian citing Interfax. The reports could not immediately be verified. A Ukrainian drone attack, meanwhile, damaged an oil refinery in the Russian city of Yaroslavl, injuring two employees, local governor Mikhail Evrayev said.

A school serving as an aid distribution point in a village in Ukraine's south-eastern Zaporizhzhia region was struck by Russian forces on Monday, leaving 26 people dead, according to Zelensky and Ukraine's emergency services.

The Russians struck first just as people were arriving – a few aerial bombs. Then there was a second strike – more air bombs, this time on the shelter. A vile terrorist strike.— Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukrainian President

According to Axios, Zelensky said Monday that Ukrainian intelligence indicates Russia is readying another large-scale attack on the country's energy and logistics infrastructure for Tuesday, timed, in his words, 'when the world will be watching the American midterms.'

Separately, soldiers from 10 European nations — roughly 2,800 in total — will gather in Poland this month for the inaugural exercise of a new multinational force backing Ukraine, with France and the UK at the helm. The force, called 'Multinational Force – Ukraine,' carries no offensive mandate and would be deployed only after a ceasefire takes effect. According to The Guardian, the exercise is scheduled to run from November 9–22 in south-east Poland, close to the Ukrainian border.

This isn't a hypothetical plan, it's a real force, ready to help Ukraine once the fighting stops.— Wes Streeting, UK Defence Minister

Ukraine has also accused Russia of exploiting last week's US-backed humanitarian ceasefire in the southern Kherson region — brokered by first lady Melania Trump, according to the White House — to rotate troops, boost defences, and improve battlefield logistics. According to The Guardian, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov described repositioning during a ceasefire as 'standard practice,' adding that Ukraine could be assumed to have done likewise.

Why it matters — The Abu Dhabi talks are the first trilateral US-Russia-Ukraine negotiations since February and the clearest test yet of whether Trump's diplomatic and economic concessions to Moscow can translate into any real movement toward ending a war now in its fifth year.

Reported by axios.com, thehill.com, foxnews.com, reuters.com, theguardian.com, thenationalnews.com