By CNN's Billy Stockwell and Essie Ronald
(CNN) - This week, a new round of peace talks will be held in the Emirati capital, Abu Dhabi, between the United States, Ukraine, and Russia, as the administration of US President Donald Trump strives to end the conflict that has been going on for nearly 5 years, even after it announced major concessions to Moscow.
The negotiations continued for more than 4 hours on Tuesday, and the United States described them as “very productive,” and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the United States for “organizing the talks,” describing them as “very constructive and important.”
It is expected to resume in the UAE capital on Wednesday morning local time.
Zelensky told reporters, on Tuesday, that Wednesday would be the main stage of the negotiations, and that the teams would discuss options for reducing escalation and the possibility of holding a meeting between him and Russian President Vladimir Putin. He told reporters during a visit to Denmark: “I am not sure of Russia’s readiness, but we will raise this issue.”
Russia has made clear its desire for the negotiations - the first of their kind since February - to be tripartite, despite the presence of national security advisers from several European countries, as well as officials from NATO and the European Union, in the UAE capital for separate meetings.
Many - especially in Europe - doubted Moscow's intentions, and Kaya Kallas, the European Union's foreign policy chief, said on Monday that she had seen little indications of Russia's willingness to negotiate in good faith.
Who leads the negotiations?
The United States is represented by Jared Kushner, son-in-law of US President Donald Trump - who is considered one of the country's top diplomats despite not holding any official position in the Trump administration - and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, while the Ukrainian delegation is headed by Rustam Omerov, head of Ukrainian foreign intelligence and chief negotiator.
Russia sent Deputy Foreign Ministers Sergei Ryabkov and Mikhail Galuzin as delegates, according to Russian state news agency TASS, as well as Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky, military intelligence chief Igor Kostyukov, and member of the General Staff Yuri Zygarlovsky.
Representatives of the Group of Four European countries (the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy), in addition to representatives of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Commission, are also present in Abu Dhabi, where they met with the Ukrainian and American delegations before the tripartite talks held on Tuesday.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov criticized the presence of European officials, saying that their participation is not considered a "promising approach." Lavrov said Tuesday, during the negotiations: "As for the participation of the Europeans, they have traveled to Abu Dhabi. Let them sit in one of its hotels."
What makes these conversations special?
These talks come in light of renewed efforts by European countries to activate their role in negotiations regarding the future of Ukraine and the security of the bloc as a whole, after Trump promoted a new security agreement for Ukraine that “may include all of Europe.”
“Our goal is to underline a fundamental principle: that the pursuit of peace in Ukraine and security in Europe are closely linked,” the Elysee Palace in Paris said on Tuesday, ahead of the start of the talks.
Europe has long been skeptical of any US-brokered peace deal negotiated without its participation, with Omerov stating Monday that Ukraine is "doing everything we can to ensure Europe's participation in the diplomatic process."
Witkopf said he and Kushner met with Ukrainian and European partners on Tuesday to continue “close coordination on efforts to end the war in Ukraine and create the necessary conditions for a lasting peace, including support for strong security guarantees as part of any settlement.”
The participants reaffirmed their shared commitment to a strong post-war European security architecture and arrangements, and made clear that a strong NATO would remain an essential axis of collective Euro-Atlantic defence, Witkopf posted on the “X” platform (formerly Twitter).
Later Tuesday, Zelensky said that negotiators "talked in detail about the essence of Ukraine's security guarantees and the foundations for ensuring the effectiveness of these guarantees in the long term."
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is in Paris to attend the G7 summit, said on Tuesday that his administration's goal is to expand the scope of the current talks so that the Europeans have "direct representation at the negotiating table." He also downplayed the differences between the United States and Europe over the war, saying: "Our goals are the same."
But when reporters asked him later Tuesday whether he thought this round of negotiations might lead to anything different than the last, Zelensky replied: “We don't trust, but we hope.”
He referred to recent statements issued by Witkoff and Kushner, and said: “I see changes. I am very happy with what I hear. We will see what can be done.”
How likely is a breakthrough?
This will be the fourth round of tripartite talks, and all of them ended without achieving a tangible breakthrough.
Earlier this year, Zelensky stated that trilateral talks held in Geneva, Switzerland, in February had ended without achieving Ukraine's goals.
The United States later postponed a round of trilateral talks that were scheduled to take place in March.
Putin still adheres to maximum demands that Kiev had previously rejected, including extending Russian control over the Donbass region in eastern Ukraine, reducing the size of the Ukrainian army, and Kiev abandoning its ambitions to join NATO.
John Herbst, senior director of the Atlantic Council's Eurasia Center and a former US ambassador to Ukraine, said any expectations for the Abu Dhabi talks should be "very modest." "They are only taking place because Putin wants to give Trump a reason to continue distancing himself from Ukraine," Herbst wrote last week.
Zelensky said Tuesday evening that negotiations should continue, even if their outcome is limited to a prisoner exchange - something he said was discussed Tuesday.
What is the situation on the ground in Ukraine?
As Russia's all-out invasion of Ukraine enters its fifth year, and with territorial gains difficult to achieve, Moscow has intensified its air attacks, with deadly results for the Ukrainians.
On Monday, at least 55 people were killed when Russia dropped several bombs on a school building that was being used as a shelter and aid center in Zaporozhye, in one of the bloodiest incidents since the outbreak of war. According to the ACLED organization, a global body that monitors conflicts, the number of civilian casualties in Ukraine has reached its highest levels since the start of the war, with more than 2,700 people killed as a result of Russian strikes since the beginning of this year.
Continuing a pattern observed in previous years, Russian drones and missiles have begun targeting Ukraine's energy infrastructure, but at a more violent pace and earlier than in previous winters, according to analysts.
Zelensky stated that the Russian attacks on the electricity network led to a power outage for more than 600,000 people in the Dnipropetrovsk region during Sunday night, at a time when temperatures are dropping sharply with the approach of winter.
Over the past few months, Russia has deployed Shahed drones that are powered by jet engines and have high speed, making them more difficult to shoot down.
At the same time, more missiles are bypassing Ukrainian air defenses, as Kiev suffers from a chronic shortage of American-made Patriot interceptor missiles, which are among the few defensive weapons capable of shooting down ballistic missiles.
Can the midterm elections change America's position?
While the Biden administration has positioned the United States as the largest supporter and strongest ally of Ukraine, the Trump administration's relationship with Kiev has been characterized by greater complexity. It has suspended financial aid to Ukraine in 2025, and the intelligence and technology support it continues to provide has come under increasing pressure in recent weeks.
Last month, Zelensky accused his Western allies of not providing intelligence warnings before multiple ballistic missile attacks occurred, an allegation denied by the Trump administration.
Also in October, Ukraine faced difficulties in using StarShield - a military-grade version of Elon Musk's Starlink service, which is vital to Ukrainian military operations - after restrictions were imposed on connection speeds at satellite stations. Trump denied approving this decision, while Musk indicated - in a post on social media - that the Trump administration was behind this ban.
Behind all this recent tension lies Trump's sensitivity to rising fuel prices, which have risen sharply due to the war on Iran, contributing to the crushing defeat suffered by Republicans in last week's midterm elections.
Trump expressed his willingness to conclude trade deals with Moscow - including a deal to supply Russian diesel to the markets - in a radical shift from the sanctions policy aimed at punishing and isolating the Russian economy. He also put pressure on Zelensky to accept a short-term “truce in the energy sector.”
With Democrats poised to take over in Congress, Zelensky publicly expressed his hope that a Democratic victory would strengthen American support for Ukraine, especially since the party "talks very clearly about supporting and providing assistance to Ukraine."
However, it remains unclear whether the midterm elections will bring about a fundamental change in US policy towards Kiev.
In an interview with “60 Minutes” broadcast on Sunday, Trump refused to say who he trusted more, Zelensky or Putin, and hinted that Ukraine might have to give up part of its territory. He said: “Ukraine will end up a little different,” raising a scenario that Zelensky had previously rejected repeatedly.
