US envoys go to meet Putin at the Kremlin following Ukraine talks in Abu Dhabi

MOSCOW (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoys arrived at the Kremlin on Thursday for talks with President Vladimir Putin, as Washington sought to generate new momentum in peace efforts after two days of U.S.-mediated negotiations between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations.

Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who is also Trump’s son-in-law, brokered the talks in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, which were the first direct discussions between Russian and Ukrainian officials in nine months as the push for peace stalled this year.

The talks wrapped up Wednesday with an agreement on a large exchange of prisoners, with the exact number still to be agreed.

The talks produced no visible breakthrough on ending the nearly five years of large-scale hostilities, which began on Feb. 24, 2022, after the fighting initially started in 2014 in eastern Ukraine.

But Kushner and Witkoff appeared keen to seize the moment and went straight to the Kremlin.

U.S. envoys want Europe at the negotiating table, too

Kushner said that one of the goals of the meeting with Putin is to get the Russian leader’s blessing for European representatives to be part of the talks, which are looking at the continent’s broader security arrangements.

The U.S. and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy are looking for Europe to appoint a single person to negotiate with Moscow.

At the moment, Moscow doesn’t want European countries, which are concerned about Russia’s conduct and broader intentions on the continent, involved in the direct negotiations. Moscow complains that Europe is financing and supplying weaponry to Ukraine and is part of the problem holding up a deal.

Many in Europe see the inclusion of Russia in discussions about European security as an unwelcome concession to Putin, who has described NATO’s eastward expansion as a top security threat to his country. Moscow has demanded that the trans-Atlantic alliance’s troops be pulled back from Russia’s borders.

Some analysts say negotiators may be looking to grant Russia concessions on NATO’s strategy in return for peace in Ukraine — a possibility that has alarmed European governments.

After meeting with Putin, Kushner said that he and Witkoff will fly to Dublin, Ireland, to meet later Thursday with Zelenskyy, who is attending a meeting of more than 40 European countries that also includes NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.

Zelenskyy sees a political ‘window of opportunity’

Zelenskyy said that political changes, including Democrats taking over the U.S. Congress in January following the U.S. midterm elections and votes in France next year, could bring “a window of opportunity” for a peace deal.

“The political landscape in Europe could change in 2027 … we also see changes already taking place in the United States,” Zelenskyy said in Dublin late Wednesday. “So today there really is this opportunity, this window of opportunity, when all those involved in the negotiating process genuinely want to achieve a result before 2027.”

He said that the proposed prisoner exchange was a positive step, but at the same time he insisted that Ukraine won’t give in to demands that it surrender its territory that has been occupied by Russia in return for peace.

Hopes were low for any significant breakthrough in Abu Dhabi. Russia and Ukraine have occasionally swapped prisoners, but both sides remain far apart in their terms for accepting a settlement.

Along with post-conflict security guarantees for both countries, another key obstacle to an agreement is the fate of Russia-occupied Ukrainian territory.

The fighting continues as another bitter winter approaches

Fighting continues along the 1,200-kilometer (about 750-mile) front line, and negotiators warn that the path to peace will be long.

Russia’s bigger army is stuck on the battlefield by dogged Ukrainian resistance while its strategic bombing of Ukraine aims to deny civilians heat, light and running water, sapping public morale in what Kyiv calls a “weaponization of winter.”

Russia and Ukraine are battering each other with long-range missiles and drones.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said that air defenses downed 71 Ukrainian drones overnight.

The ministry said that Russian forces struck a drone-making plant in Kyiv and three other facilities producing missile fuel and drone components in the area around the Ukrainian capital. It said that other strikes hit power substations in Zhytomyr and a bulk carrier heading to the Black Sea port of Odesa with cargo for the Ukrainian armed forces.

Russian colonel reportedly killed by a car bomb in St. Petersburg

A Russian military serviceman was killed in St. Petersburg early Thursday when his vehicle exploded, according to Russia’s Investigative Committee, the country’s main criminal investigation agency. It didn’t name the victim or say who could be behind the bombing.

Fontanka news outlet said that the victim was a colonel and an explosive device in his car went off as he drove off.

Several senior officers have been killed by bombings and other attacks that Russia has blamed on Ukraine. Kyiv has claimed responsibility for some attacks on Russian soil.

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Follow the AP’s coverage of the fighting in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine