Ukraine pushes to start Abu Dhabi talks a week before midterms

Ukraine is asking the United States and Russia to move a planned round of trilateral negotiations forward by at least seven days. The new target date would be earlier than the current tentative start of November 10 in Abu Dhabi. This shift aims to begin talks before the US congressional midterm elections conclude.

A source close to the Ukrainian negotiation team stated that Kyiv wants an EU representative seated at the table. The Russians do not want Europeans present during the first meeting. However, the Ukrainian team plans to bring them along to brief them in real time. The source noted that European envoys currently lack a designated representative with a mandate to make decisions.

As of the evening of October 25, Moscow had not confirmed the date change. A member of President Zelenskyy's team explained the urgency by pointing to the approaching winter. The source said that in December, every week matters when citizens lack power, water, or heating. Each day plays a role in the struggle for basic services.

Negotiators do not expect a breakthrough at the first meeting. A participant in previous rounds predicted that new delegations will use the initial session to get acquainted. Substantive work will begin at the second meeting, with potential real decisions around the third round. A source from the President's Office added that the Russians still believe they can break Ukraine this winter.

The Ukrainian side proposes starting with the broader shape of peace rather than specific territorial swaps. A source close to the team said Ukraine needs to present a picture of how the region will look and how Ukraine will be protected. The source noted that trust in President Trump is only 6% higher than trust in President Putin, so Ukrainians will not rely solely on American assurances.

European involvement has become more concrete in recent weeks. Bjorn Seibert, the head of cabinet to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, has emerged as a likely EU representative. US officials Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff reportedly told Putin about discussing a new security model, and the Russian leader allegedly agreed to the concept.

Davyd Arakhamiia, leader of the Servant of the People parliamentary faction, told American counterparts that the final peace configuration must be acceptable to residents of Kharkiv and Dnipro. He argued that if people in those regions accept the formula, it will be a true work in progress. Kyiv insists that Europe must be part of these negotiations, despite opposition from both Russia and the United States.