Ukraine hails first trilateral talks with Russia and US as ‘constructive’ as Washington says mood ‘very upbeat’

By Jessie Yeung, Kosta Gak, Victoria Butenko, Sophie Tanno, Kit Maher, CNN

(CNN) — The first trilateral talks between Ukraine, Russia and the United States concluded in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, as all sides struck an optimistic tone following two days of discussions.

US officials described the talks — which saw officials from all three countries sit down together for the first time since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 — as having “surpassed expectations” and said the mood in the room was “very upbeat, very positive, very constructive.”

One US official said the meeting marked a significant step forward after months of quiet diplomacy, stressing that while a final deal is not guaranteed, progress would not have been possible without face-to-face talks. “Getting to this place was a really big step,” the official said, adding that the parties were probing each other’s positions and working creatively toward solutions.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a statement that “a lot was discussed, and it is important that the conversations were constructive,” adding that further meetings could take place as early as next week.

“The central focus of the discussions was the possible parameters for ending the war,” the Ukrainian leader said. He added that US officials had suggested formalizing these parameters and the security conditions required to achieve them.

“All sides agreed to report back in their capitals on each aspect of the negotiations and to coordinate further steps with their leaders,” he said. “Provided there is readiness to move forward — and Ukraine is ready — further meetings will take place, potentially as early as next week.”

US officials echoed that assessment, acknowledging that significant issues remain. “De-escalation is important. Yes, territory is important, as well, but we’ve eliminated lots of things that the parties couldn’t agree on before Geneva,” the US official said, referring to an earlier round of peace talks in Switzerland that failed to produce agreement. “It’s important for us to keep up the momentum.”

The parties agreed that the next round of talks would begin February 1, once again in Abu Dhabi, according to US officials.

After the meeting, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told state news agency TASS that Moscow wants to develop a plan that “fully corresponds to the fundamental understandings” reached by Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump during their summit in Alaska last year.

The negotiations were conducted in English and Russian, TASS reported, citing a source. The parties discussed “buffer zones and various control mechanisms,” but the issue of territories remains difficult, according to TASS.

Meanwhile, a UAE government spokesperson said the talks had a “positive and constructive atmosphere” and saw Ukrainian and Russian representatives engage directly on elements of a US-proposed peace framework.

Russia sent a military team, including a top spy and military intelligence chief, to attend the talks in Abu Dhabi; Ukraine sent top negotiators, including diplomats and security officials; and the US was represented by Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, and Josh Gruenbaum, the Federal Acquisition Service Commissioner.

Witkoff and Kushner previously met with Putin for about four hours in Russia, US officials said Saturday, describing the meeting as “very, very productive.” Security, prosperity, frozen assets, territory and de-escalation were discussed in the conversation with Putin, which also included Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov, the US officials said.

Going into the talks, it was widely understood that territory was the remaining key issue to be resolved. The Kremlin had reiterated Russia’s stance that Ukraine must withdraw from the Donbas region in the eastern part of the country, which Kyiv has repeatedly rejected.

The Donbas region is formed of the two coal-rich areas of Donetsk and Luhansk that used to make up Ukraine’s industrial heartland. And it was in the Donbas, which has a significant Russian-speaking population, that Putin’s mission to destabilize and conquer Ukraine started in 2014.

The area also contains the “fortress belt” of industrial cities, railways and roads that form the backbone of Ukraine’s defense and supply the front line. Kyiv has spent years fortifying this area, and losing it would leave the rest of eastern Ukraine wide open.

The Trump administration has previously pressured Ukraine to accept a peace deal, despite widespread concerns such an arrangement could favor Moscow.

Nearly four years since launching a full-scale invasion of its neighbor, Russia occupies around 20% of the territory recognized under international law as part of sovereign Ukraine. That includes almost all of the Luhansk region, and parts of the Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.

Large Russian attack overnight

Hours after negotiators from Kyiv, Moscow and Washington had finished their first day of talks in the UAE on Friday, Russia launched its biggest overnight aerial attack on Ukraine this year, local authorities said Saturday.

Between the two rounds of talks, missile and drone attacks targeted the Ukrainian capital, according to the country’s air force, which activated air defenses. CNN journalists in Kyiv reported hearing explosions.

At least one person died and four people were wounded by the strikes, according to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko. He added that falling debris had caused fires and damaged buildings, with nearly 6,000 apartment blocks losing heat and other parts of the city cut off from water supply. As of Saturday morning local time it was minus 12 degrees Celsius (10 degrees Fahrenheit) in Kyiv.

Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv in the northeast, also came under attack — with strikes damaging a maternity hospital and a dormitory for displaced people, according to Mayor Ihor Terekhov. At least 19 people were wounded, including one child.

In total, Russia launched more than 370 drones and 21 missiles overnight, with other targets including Sumy and Chernihiv, Zelensky said Saturday. He added the attacks focused on Ukraine’s energy sector, which is “critical” during the cold winter.

Denys Shmyhal, Ukraine’s energy minister, said Saturday evening local time that more than 800,000 people in Kyiv were without power due to emergency power cuts following the strikes.

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CNN’s Nick Paton Walsh, Nina Subkhanberdina, Victoria Butenko, Darya Tarasova, Helen Regan and Ivana Kottasová contributed to this report.