“Regional concessions”...the most prominent node of the solution in Ukraine

Yesterday, the latest round of Russian-Ukrainian negotiations concluded in the Emirati capital, Abu Dhabi, under American auspices, while it seemed that the issue of “regional concessions” still constitutes the most prominent obstacle on the way to achieving a major breakthrough. The dialogue round on the second day lasted about two hours, after which the delegations left without announcing details.

Vladimir Medinsky, Moscow's chief negotiator in the talks, said yesterday that Russia does not see any possibility of exchanging territory with Ukraine within any agreement. On the other hand, Kiev renewed its rejection of the possibility of making territorial concessions, and refused to withdraw forces from the areas still under its control in the Donbas region.

Moscow rejected the nature and level of European participation in discussing the issues at hand. Medinsky launched a sharp attack on the European parties, and said that he did not know why they were in the Emirati capital during the tour, and called on them to “stay in hotels.”

The governor of the Russian Leningrad region, Alexander Drozdenko, said in a post on the Telegram application today, Wednesday, that a drone attack caused a fire in the Ust-Luga port area on the Baltic Sea, in northwestern Russia, resulting in the injury of three workers.

Ukraine later claimed responsibility for the attack on the port, which caused a fire and damaged part of the fuel tank network.

The Ukrainian General Staff said via Telegram: “According to preliminary information, the tank network was severely damaged by drone strikes on the port’s oil infrastructure,” noting damage to five tanks.

Drozdenko said that a power plant was shut down as a result of the attack, during which 150 drones were shot down over the Leningrad region, which also has a major oil refinery and the city of St. Petersburg, the birthplace of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Ust-Luga is a major port for exporting oil, its derivatives, grains, and other commodities.

Officials said NATO scrambled fighter jets overnight after at least four drones entered Baltic airspace during Ukrainian strikes on Russia, triggering short alerts to citizens of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia telling them to take shelter.

The Russian Foreign Ministry announced on Wednesday the death of the Russian Ambassador to the United States, Alexander Darchev, at the age of 66.

The ministry's spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, later said via the Telegram application that Darchev died in Moscow from a chronic illness.

Darchev is a veteran diplomat who was famous in the past for his public criticism of the West. Putin appointed him as ambassador to Washington in March 2025, to lead a rapprochement process with the administration of President Donald Trump, which raised concerns in Ukraine and European countries.