LONDON — American, Ukrainian and Russian representatives are gathering once more within the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday for the following spherical of trilateral talks relating to a potential finish to Moscow’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor, the fourth anniversary of which is able to come later this month.
The talks in Abu Dhabi are anticipated to run till Thursday. The negotiations are the second instalment of the trilateral format, the primary additionally having been held in Abu Dhabi final month.
Each Moscow and Kyiv described the primary spherical of trilateral talks as constructive, however key areas of disagreement stay.
Amongst them are the destiny of Ukraine’s jap Donbas area, which Russia has partially occupied and from which Moscow is demanding a full Ukrainian army withdrawal — a proposal rejected by Kyiv.
Management of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Energy Plant in southern Ukraine — occupied by Moscow’s forces since March 2022 — can be an essential level of debate.
One other unresolved challenge is the character of post-war Western safety ensures for Ukraine, with out which Kyiv says Moscow will have the ability to launch a brand new spherical of aggression sooner or later. The binding involvement of American forces in these safety ensures is a key Ukrainian demand.
On this picture made out of video offered by Russian Protection Ministry Press Service on Feb. 4, 2026, Russian rocket artillery fires towards Ukrainian positions at an undisclosed location in Ukraine.
AP
Russia has constantly stated it won’t settle for the deployment of any NATO troops in Ukraine post-war. However following talks with U.S. President Donald Trump’s peace envoy Steve Witkoff over the weekend, Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev stated, “Some safety ensures in some type could also be acceptable.”
The delegations will collect on Wednesday as Ukraine reels from a serious Russian drone and missile bombardment on Monday evening, which Ukrainian officers stated triggered severe harm to the nation’s power grid.
This winter has seen intense and sustained Russian strikes on Ukrainian power infrastructure, prompting common blackouts for hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians amid below-freezing temperatures.
On Thursday, Trump stated he had secured a week-long Russian dedication to halt assaults on Ukrainian power targets. Moscow confirmed the settlement, however stated the pause solely prolonged till Sunday. Kyiv stated it will additionally pause assaults on Russian power infrastructure.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recommended on Tuesday that Monday evening’s strikes violated the supposed week-long pause. The Ukrainian president additionally stated, “The work of our negotiating crew might be adjusted accordingly.”
Trump, although, instructed reporters in a while Tuesday that the settlement solely stretched from “Sunday to Sunday,” including that Russian President Vladimir Putin “stored his phrase on that.”
“You recognize, one week is, we’ll take something as a result of it is actually, actually chilly over there. But it surely was on Sunday and he went from Sunday to Sunday,” Trump stated.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky gestures as he delivers a press convention with Secretary Common of NATO following their assembly in Kyiv, February 3, 2026.
Genya Savilov/AFP through Getty Photos
Zelenskyy stated on Tuesday, “Final evening, Russia broke its promise, meaning both Russia now believes per week has fewer than 4 days as a substitute of seven, or it’s genuinely betting solely on battle and easily waited for the coldest days of this winter.”
Zelenskyy additionally stated in a publish to Telegram that Kyiv is ready for “the response of the USA of America to the Russian strikes.”
Zelenskyy recommended that the assaults undermined any hope of profitable talks. “This additionally speaks volumes about every other guarantees Russia has made or may nonetheless make. If their phrase would not maintain even now, what will be anticipated subsequent?” he stated in a publish to Telegram.
“They lied earlier than this battle as properly, and Russia launched the full-scale battle, making an attempt to deceive everybody about their intentions and about Ukraine. Even now, in these particulars, in these agreements with the USA, Russia resorts to deception once more,” Zelenskyy wrote.
Each Russia and Ukraine continued their long-range assaults in a single day into Wednesday.
Firefighters work on the website of the condo constructing hit by a Russian drone strike in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Feb. 3, 2026.
Sofia Gatilova/Reuters
Ukraine’s air drive stated Russia launched 105 drones into the nation in a single day, of which 88 had been shot down or suppressed. Seventeen drones impacted throughout 14 areas, the air drive stated.
Russia’s Protection Ministry, in the meantime, stated its forces shot down 24 Ukrainian drones in a single day.
