ABU DHABI — The Russian delegation has arrived in Abu Dhabi for the trilateral talks between Russia, the United States and Ukraine that open on Tuesday, November 10 and run for two days — the first such round since February, the Associated Press reported. A source told Russia's RIA Novosti news agency about the arrival on Monday: “They have arrived.” The Russian team is led by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky and includes Deputy Foreign Ministers Sergei Ryabkov and Mikhail Galuzin alongside senior General Staff officers, including military intelligence chief Igor Kostyukov. Ukraine's delegation is led by Rustem Umerov, head of the National Security and Defence Council, and US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner mediate.

Source: RIA Novosti via BRICS Times, Nov 10 2026

Nov 10–11the two days of trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi — the first round in this format since February, according to the Associated Press
Februarywhen the previous round was held — in Geneva, nine months ago; it delivered no significant progress, the AP reported
317 droneslaunched by Russia at Ukraine overnight before the talks, including 105 jet-powered drones, Ukraine's air force said — via the AP
“Very close”President Trump's description of a deal in his “60 Minutes” interview — the AP notes he has previously made statements about the war that haven't materialised

Kushner, who will mediate alongside Witkoff, set out the American priorities on X on Monday: ending the conflict, finding ways to stop the war reigniting, reviving Ukraine's postwar economy and preparing humanitarian aid. “We hope these discussions will identify areas of common ground, advance practical solutions, and build momentum toward the next phase of negotiations,” Kushner said. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday that Trump's team has placed “collective security” — covering not just Russia and Ukraine but a wider area — at the top of the agenda. In Abu Dhabi, the AP reported, the talks will look at what security guarantees would satisfy Russia, which sees NATO as a threat, and Ukraine, which wants to prevent future Russian invasions.

Source: Associated Press, Nov 9 2026

The opening follows a Monday briefing in which a US official said both sides are privately showing some flexibility on a possible exchange of territory — a claim neither Moscow nor Kyiv has publicly confirmed. Read Monday's report: US official sees private flexibility on territory ahead of Abu Dhabi

Europe is in the building, but not — on Moscow's insistence — at the table

Moscow insists European representatives won't be directly involved in the Abu Dhabi discussions, the AP reported, but European officials said representatives will be in the United Arab Emirates. Ukraine's lead negotiator Rustem Umerov said European officials will hold “separate coordination” with the delegation from Kyiv, and Kushner said that before the talks begin, he and Witkoff will consult officials from Ukraine, the European Union, NATO, Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Italy. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that the meeting would focus on trilateral negotiations, with the United States mediating: “You are aware that the Americans have their own channels of communication with the Europeans, as do the Ukrainians… But, to reiterate, this is a matter of trilateral negotiations.” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot had said on Sunday that France “will be there” to ensure Europe's voice is heard.

Source: Associated Press, Nov 9 2026

Europe's own top diplomat was bleak about the odds. In Paris on Monday, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told Reuters she saw little sign of Russian goodwill: “So far they have just been pretending that they negotiate because we haven't seen any goodwill from the Russian side. They are bombing Kyiv, they are bombing civilians.” Russia denies targeting civilians, Reuters noted. Kallas also pointed to last week's US midterm results and said she hoped Republican losses would alter Washington's approach to Ukraine; the EU is negotiating a 22nd package of sanctions on Russia.

Source: Reuters (Kaja Kallas interview, Paris), Nov 9 2026

The delegations arrived after a night of long-range strikes

Hours before the delegations were due to meet, Russia battered Ukraine's power grid again and Ukrainian forces hit another of Russia's biggest oil refineries, officials said on Monday, the AP reported. Russian forces targeted four electrical substations in Ukraine's Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Cherkasy and Vinnytsia regions, Russia's Defense Ministry said; Russia launched 317 drones of various types, including 105 jet-powered drones, at Ukraine overnight, Ukraine's air force said; and Russian forces hit a warehouse in Odesa containing food supplies for kindergartens and schools, killing three people, local officials said. Zelenskyy said the European Union had agreed to activate a special emergency mechanism that speeds up funding for power grid repairs. On the other side, a Ukrainian long-range drone attack started a fire at the KINEF oil refinery, one of Russia's largest, close to St. Petersburg and more than 1,200 kilometres (745 miles) from the Ukrainian border, Leningrad Governor Alexander Drozdenko said, and Ukraine's General Staff said its forces also struck a plant near St. Petersburg that produces solid rocket propellant for Russia's Iskander-M ballistic missiles.

Source: Associated Press, Nov 9 2026

The overnight drone barrage was reported as it happened, before the delegations landed. Read the earlier report: Russia launches 317 drones at Ukraine overnight on the eve of the talks

What is solid

  • The Russian delegation arrived in Abu Dhabi on Monday ahead of the November 10–11 talks, a source told RIA Novosti; Medinsky leads the Russian team — RIA Novosti; Kremlin statements reported by the AP and AnewZ
  • The talks are the first trilateral round since February, are mediated by Witkoff and Kushner, and put security guarantees at the centre — Associated Press
  • Europeans will be in the UAE and coordinating with Kyiv, but Moscow insists they will not sit in the trilateral room — Associated Press, reporting Peskov and Umerov
  • Fighting did not pause for the diplomacy: 317 drones overnight and substation strikes on one side, a refinery fire near St. Petersburg on the other — Associated Press, attributing each claim to the side that made it

What is only claimed

  • Whether any deal is near: Trump says Moscow and Kyiv are “very close”; Kallas says Russia is 'pretending' to negotiate; a US official's claim of private territorial flexibility is unconfirmed by either capital — all three are attributed positions, not findings
  • Whether the February-to-November gap means momentum or failure: the last round in Geneva delivered no significant progress, the AP reported, and the parties' public demands — territory, NATO, ceasefire sequencing — remain opposed

What happens next

Two days of talks, with the sequence Washington has described — security architecture and guarantees first, the territorial question last — meaning even a constructive week produces a framework rather than a settlement. The markers to watch are any agreed ceasefire or energy-strike step, any joint or parallel statement when the delegations leave, whether the Europeans' “separate coordination” produces a shared position or a public split, and whether Witkoff and Kushner travel on to Moscow, as a US official said on Monday was possible. The war these talks are meant to end is nearly five years old and has killed hundreds of thousands of soldiers and thousands of civilians, analysts and humanitarian organisations say — which is why an opening day in Abu Dhabi is news, and why it is not yet an ending.