US, Russia Hold Peace Talks In Abu Dhabi Amid Moscow's Attacks On Kyiv

US and Russia held talks on late Monday and Tuesday in Abu Dhabi on the sidelines of US President Donald Trump’s efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war.

“Late Monday and throughout Tuesday, Secretary Driscoll and team have been in discussions with the Russian delegation to achieve a lasting peace in Ukraine. The talks are going well and we remain optimistic. Secretary Driscoll is closely synchronized with the White House…as these talks progress,” said US Army Lieutenant Colonel Jeff Tolbert, a spokesperson for Army Secretary Dan Driscoll.

According to Reuters, the exact nature of the discussions was not immediately clear, and it was not known who was in the Russian delegation.

Another US official said Driscoll will likely meet Ukrainian officials

while in Abu Dhabi.

Meanwhile, an American official claimed that Ukraine has agreed to a deal to end the war with Russia by agreeing to the US-backed peace deal, put forward by US President Donald Trump.

The 28-point peace plan, which has now been tightened to 19, still has some “minor details” outstanding, the official said. Earlier in the day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had said that more work needed to be done before finalising any deal.

“The sensitive issues, the most delicate points, I will discuss with President Trump,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address

“It’s an initiative that goes in the right direction: peace. However, there are aspects of that plan that deserve to be discussed, negotiated, improved,” French President Emmanuel Macron told RTL radio regarding the U.S.-proposed plan. “We want peace, but we don’t want a peace that would be a capitulation.”

“What was put on the table gives us an idea of what would be acceptable for the Russians. Does that mean that it is what must be accepted by the Ukrainians and the Europeans? The answer is no,” Macron added.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s capital was hit by several missiles and hundreds of drones overnight by Russia. The attacks killed six people and disrupted power and heating systems.

“There was a very loud explosion, our windows were falling apart, we got dressed and ran out,” Reuters quoted Nadiia Horodko, a 39-year-old accountant, after a residential building was struck in Kyiv overnight.

“There was horror, everything was already burning here, and a woman was screaming from the eighth floor, ‘Save the child, the child is on fire!'”